Business excellence awards 2014

Acquisition International

International Staffing Firm of the Year, USA Staffing 360 Solutions is proud to have been named International Staffing Firm of the Year, USA, says Executive Chairman Brendan Flood. “It’s a great honour to have been nominated for the award, and an even greater honour to have won it,” he says. “It’s testament to the great work that’s been done by our employees and associates.” The award is significant, he says, because it separates Staffing 360 Solutions from its numerous competitors.

The award is recognition of the company’s focus on the highest quality of service. “Ours is a value-based culture,” he says. “And we want to ensure that anyone who has an interaction with us walks away with a positive experience.

We measure ourselves internally on this.”

- Matt Briand, CEO - Brendan Flood, Executive Chairman - A.J. Cervantes, Vice Chairman and President - Staffing 360 Solutions

Saudi Management Team of the Year

Customized Payment Solutions Provider of the Year, USA

“I’m very honoured.

But without the support of my team, and our customers, I wouldn’t have got here. It’s a statement that we’re doing something great.”

- Andy Khawaja (left), CEO - Allied Wallet

Energy Firm of the Year, Mexico

“It feels great.

It’s a story of hard work over 50 years, and the commitment of everyone in the company.”

- Octavio Berrón, CFO - Fermaca

Most Innovative Digital Agency of the Year “The reaction at Olson has been one of elation. We’re thrilled and humbled by the recognition. This award recognises the power of activating communities on behalf of brands.”

- John Partilla , CEO - Olson

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Welcome to the Acquisition International 2014 Business Excellence Awards In the business world, the word “excellence” implies a certain special quality: a refusal to accept anything but the very highest level of performance and a steadfast commitment to go above and beyond for the client.

The Acquisition International Business Excellence Awards recognise companies and individuals who strive for perfection, offering their customers the highest possible standard of service.

These are the people leading the pack in the business world, setting examples for the rest to follow.

To be named a winner in the Acquisition International Business Excellence Awards is a prestigious accolade.

Why? Because winners are nominated and voted for by the people that matter the most – their peers and clients.

The awards are given purely on merit, acknowledging fantastic achievement over the course of the past year.

So let’s find out who’s made their mark this year with sustained great performance in their field to be named Acquisition International Business Excellence Award winners…

Staffing 360 Solutions Inc.

Allied Wallet

International Staffing Firm of the Year - USA / Page 6

Customized Payment Solutions Provider of the Year - USA / Page 10

Fermaca

Olson

Energy Firm of the Year - Mexico / Page 14

Most Innovative Digital Agency of the Year - USA / Page 18

Astra Group

Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector

Saudi Management Team of the Year / Page 22

Islamic Banking Business Excellence Award - Saudi Arabia / Page 24

Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector

Mercatus Inc Energy Finance Solutions Provider of the Year - USA / Page 26

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Alchemy Systems

Alkane Energy PLC

AstraQom

Solution & Growth Focused Training Firm of the Year - USA / Page 28

2014 Growth Award: Independent Power Generator of the Year - UK / Page 29

US CEO of the Year - Telecommunications / Page 30

CloudOrigin Limited

Consultiva

Cool Planet Energy Systems

Enterprise Cloud Computing Specialist of the Year - UK / Page 31

Businesswoman of the Year - Puerto Rico / Page 32

Most Sustainable Technology Company of the Year - USA / Page 33

Dr. Bellof Consulting

Dubai Islamic Bank

Heritage International Fund Managers Limited

Integrated Risk Management Firm of the Year - Germany / Page 34

Islamic Bank of the Year - UAE and Most Established Bank of the Year - UAE / Page 35

Financial Services MD of the Year - Guernsey / Page 36

Hewlett Packard Multimedia Sdn Bhd

Inapa Packaging / Europackaging

PACT Group

Business Continuity Management Team of the Year - Malaysia / Page 37

Growth Strategy of the Year - Portugal / Page 38

Manufacturing Management Team of the Year - Australia / Page 39

iPipeline

J. Knipper and Company

Jumpstart

Insurance Industry Solutions firm of the Year - USA / Page 40

US Direct Marketing Firm of the Year - Pharmaceuticals / Page 41

R&D Tax Credits Advisory Firm of the Year - UK / Page 42

Motilal Oswal Private Equity

Novantas

Paradigm Group B.V.

Private Equity Advisers of the Year - India / Page 43

Financial Services Sector - Analytics & Advisory Firm of the Year - USA / Page 44

Dutch CEO of the Year / Page 45

Parseq

Redefine

Santia Consulting Ltd

BPO Partner of the Year - UK / Page 46

Real Estate Investment Trust of the Year -UK / Page 47

Health Risk Management Consultancy of the Year - UK / Page 48

CloudOrigin

Motilal Oswal Private Equity

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Souza Cruz/British American Tobacco

Super Group Limited

Vienna Capital Partners

Assurance Manager of the Year - Brazil / Page 49

Logistics Company of the Year - South Africa / Page 50

Investment and Advisory Company of the Year - Austria / Page 51

WorldRemit

Yota Devices

Augentius

Money Transfer Specialist of the Year - UK / Page 52

Excellence in Mobile Communications Innovation - Russia / Page 53

Private Equity Fund Administrator of the Year - Singapore / Page 54

AVAST Software

The Business Continuity Institute

DX Group (plc)

IT Firm the Year -Czech Republic / Page 54

Most Respected Training Resource of 2014 / Page 55

Secure Delivery Service Provider of the Year - UK / Page 55

Ethiopian Airlines

Glori Energy Inc.

Northern Graphite Corporation

Business Airline of the Year - Africa / Page 56

Oil & Gas Sector CEO of the Year - USA / Page 56

Mining Management Team of the Year - Canada / Page 57

PDL Pharma

Virtutone

Western Potash Corp

Innovation in Biopharma - USA / Page 57

Telecoms CEO of the Year - Canada / Page 58

Industrial Metals & Minerals Company of the Year - Canada / Page 58

Please remember that recognition from rating services or publications is no guarantee of future investment success.

Working with an adviser, regardless of how highly rated, does not ensure that a client or prospective client will experience a higher level of performance or results.

These ratings should not be construed as an endorsement of the adviser by any client nor are they representative of any one client’s evaluations.

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International Staffing Firm of the Year - USA

Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. Acquisition International spoke to the executive directors of Staffing 360 Solutions, Brendan Flood – Executive Chairman, Matt Briand – CEO and A.J. Cervantes – Vice Chairman and President, about the secret to the company’s continuing success in an extremely competitive environment.

Globally, staffing companies generate about US$416bn in annual revenue, according to the International Confederation of Private Employment Agencies. There are approximately 70,000 private employment services agencies around the world, with the top 10 companies accounting for about a third of industry sales. Overall, Europe is the largest regional staffing services market with 40% of annual revenue, followed by the United States.

Staffing 360 Solutions, which is based in both London and New York, is an emerging public company in the international staffing sector engaged in the acquisition and successful integration of US and European staffing agencies.

As part of its highly targeted consolidation model, Staffing 360 Solutions not only brings experienced management with extensive staffing sector and capital markets expertise, but a wealth of consultants and industry partners to effectively execute on various emerging opportunities within this high-growth sector of the economy.

The company is committed to creating a major international publicly-held staffing organisation with diversified staffing services through this targeted accretive acquisition strategy. As such, Staffing 360 Solutions is proud to have been named International Staffing Firm of the Year, USA, says Executive Chairman, Brendan Flood. “It’s a great honour to have been nominated for the award, and an even greater honour to have won it,” he says. “It’s testament to the great work that’s been done by our employees and associates.” The award is significant, he says, because it separates Staffing 360 Solutions from its numerous competitors.

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The award is recognition of the company’s focus on the highest quality of service. “Ours is a value-based culture,” he says. “And we want to ensure that anyone who has an interaction with us walks away with a positive experience. We measure ourselves internally on this.”

In addition to being CEO of Staffing 360 Solutions, Matt Briand is President and Chief Executive Officer of its subsidiary, Monroe Staffing Services. He is responsible for setting the vision and strategic direction of the company, directing the executive management team and building company culture.

Briand has more than 17 years of staffing industry experience, gaining extensive knowledge through recruitment, sales, management and executive roles. Since being named CEO of Monroe Staffing in 2009, he has led Monroe’s organic growth from 35 employees, 8 offices and US$34m in revenues to become an US$80m company, employing 90 people in 14 offices and three on-site programs throughout the Northeast and North Carolina.

What are the main mistakes businesses make when it comes to staffing? Not truly understanding the client working relationship, says Briand. There’s much more to staffing than the “human capital” aspect, he says. “Not understanding the client’s culture is a major mistake. You need a deep-rooted understanding.”

Fact File

“It’s a great honour to have been nominated for the award, and an even greater honour to have won it. It’s testament to the great work that’s been done by our employees and associates.”

Company: Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. Name: Brendan Flood Email: brendan@ staffing360solutions.com Web: www.staffing360solutions.com Address: 641 Lexington Ave, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022 Tel: +1 212.634.6462

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Staffing 360 believes that a consolidation strategy is ideally suited for the highly fragmented temporary staffing industry, which has an estimated 15,000 companies generating less than US$20m in revenues in the United States alone. Staffing 360 has developed a significant pipeline of acquisitions in the finance and accounting, administrative, engineering, IT and cybersecurity verticals. The company’s veteran management team has been engaged in the development of a comprehensive program to create a robust pipeline of prospective acquisitions, and has significant experience in locating and evaluating prospective target companies.

Asked about the culture within Staffing 360 Solutions, Briand says it’s a collaborative environment. Its model, he says, is to keep the DNA of the company. Its remit is not to turn around companies, he says, and it will only work with a company if it is profitable and strong.

“We keep the same management,” he says. “Then we grow the organisation, and make it significantly larger. We’re looking for continuous improvement.”

When seeking a staffing company, clients should be looking for a partner, says Briand. “They should be looking for someone who understands their objectives and goals,” he says. “We want to be more than an agency.”

The staffing industry, Briand says, is a highly competitive landscape, and there are always external factors to keep in mind. “You’ve got to always be one step ahead,” he says. On example is the Affordable Care Act (or, ACA, commonly referred to as Obamacare) is a US federal statute signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Under the ACA, employers with 50 or more workers need to offer affordable health insurance, or be subject to fines (companies that don’t offer health insurance will pay annual penalties of US$2,000 for every full-time equivalent employee.) Employees expected to work 30 hours a week will be considered full time and must be offered health care coverage within 90 days of hiring.

This puts temporary staffing companies in a unique position, as they have to handle this requirement for their own staff. A positive, side-effect, though, is that they also could see new business from companies looking to stay small to avoid the new rules.

Overall the staffing business is in good shape, Briand says.

“In general, the industry is quite healthy.”

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The staffing industry, both in the US and globally, has undergone extensive consolidation in the past three years, as major publicly traded staffing companies have expanded their service offerings and geographical footprint through mergers and acquisitions.

Since 2009, 128 staffing firms reported completing a total of 238 acquisitions, according to Staffing Industry Analysts, a research organisation that follows the sector.

Within the last twelve months, Staffing 360 Solutions acquired five staffing companies with combined estimated annual revenues of over US$100m. In addition, the company has identified approximately 15 additional target companies, representing aggregate revenues in excess of US$300m that management believes can be acquired on an accretive basis – although there are no assurances that the acquisition of any of these target companies will be consummated.

“As the company implements its high-growth strategy, firms specialising in professional staffing are particularly attractive as acquisition targets, because of the higher margin and longer term nature of their business,” added A.J. Cervantes, Vice Chairman and President. As an example, after its first acquisition, the company launched a division called Cyber 360 Solutions that is specifically focused on the placement of high-tech recruits and related personnel within the cyber security industry with a focus on cyber terrorism. Both the civilian and government sectors are being targeted as Staffing 360 Solutions positions itself to capitalise on this high-growth segment of the global staffing industry.

Cervantes’s background is in Capital Markets and he has been responsible for the generation of the funding for the acquisitions to date. “We have a strong offering to our shareholders and this message continues to get stronger as we implement this exciting acquisition strategy,” he says.

Being based in both the US and the UK means Staffing 360 Solutions is already in a strong position. Is there a difference in this regard between the UK and US? Not really, says Flood. “But there’s an overlap,” he says. 80% of what Staffing 360 Solutions does is US-based, he says. The remaining 20% is Europe-based, with a particular focus on London.

As for overseas expansion plans, Flood says it certainly something being considered. “The Asian markets would make us stronger,” he says.

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Fast facts – The staffing industry today l Globally, staffing companies generate US$416bn in annual revenue, according to staffing industry analysts l The US is the largest single country for staffing, worth US$125bn, according to staffing industry analysts l 90% of US businesses use staffing services l Staffing companies employ an average of 2.96 million temporary and contract workers per day l The staffing industry will grow faster and add more jobs than any other industry over the next decade l There are 70,000 private employment services agencies around the world, with the top 10 companies accounting for about a third of industry sales l The staffing industry is highly fragmented, with an estimated 15,000 companies generating less than US$20m in revenues in the US alone l The US Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that information security professionals can expect a 53% increase in job opportunity through 2018 – equivalent to five times the growth of all other industries combined

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Customized Payment Solutions Provider of the Year - USA

Allied Wallet Allied Wallet provides a state-of-the-art payment gateway to optimize online transactions. Acquisition International caught up with the company’s globe-trotting CEO Andy Khawaja to ask him what the company has been working on to be named Customized Payment Solutions Provider of the Year, USA, and what plans he has for the future.

A survey conducted by Parade Magazine reveals that nearly 85% of internet users are also frequent online shoppers. Only 61% of these users felt that their personal information was safe.

Allied Wallet has also opened an India base in addition to its UK headquarters overlooking Trafalgar Square in London and offices in the US, Germany, Hong Kong and Macau.

12 years ago, Andy Khawaja saw this as an opportunity to build the e-commerce experience around safe and secure payment technology.

Another exciting recent development came this year when Allied Wallet was licensed to issue MasterCard and Maestro cards in various regions of Europe.

Allied Wallet provides a secure online payment system, similar to PayPal, as well as peer-to-peer transfers and smartphone card payments. With Allied Wallet, CEO Andy Khawaja, who is often referred to as the “messiah of e-commerce” for the advancement and foresight he’s offered to the industry, aims to ensure all consumers and merchants that their transactions are safe, as long as Allied Wallet is the service provider. He has grown Allied Wallet by employing an elite staff of processing veterans and innovative thinkers to uphold security, deter fraud, and assure users that their financial information is safe.

MasterCard has strict regulations for any financial institution that seeks to issue payment cards. But upon review, Allied Wallet has been deemed a licensed issuer of MasterCard or Maestro cards, servicing various regions of Europe including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, and Spain.

Today, thousands of merchants worldwide today place their trust in Allied Wallet, which has processed over a billion dollars globally in 164 currencies.

Allied Wallet has over 100 million users around the world. Earlier this year, the company acquired one of the largest Chinese payment processors in Hong Kong, CloudAsia. The move will give Allied Wallet more access to consumers and local banks in all regions of Asia including Indonesia, Korea, Malaysia and mainland China.

This issuing license will allow Allied Wallet to issue payment cards to its members, giving them the opportunity to spend the money saved in their “eWallet” (which lets you store, send, and receive payments from anywhere you have internet access) at any storefront that accepts MasterCard or Maestro.

Khawaja, a Lebanon-born US citizen, is a born entrepreneur.

He spent over seven years travelling around the world, trying to convince banks to work with him, he says, and it was his own struggles as an entrepreneur with a big dream of operating globally that led to him creating Allied Wallet.

Many of Allied Wallet’s clients are entrepreneurs with big dreams, who want to build global websites which require transacting globally in multi-currencies, and without a conversion fee. But banks often don’t understand the nature of e-commerce businesses, or the potential that entrepreneurs have to transact, create jobs and pay tax to contribute to the economy, Khawaja says. Banks won’t take a chance on online entrepreneurs – they don’t understand entrepreneurs’ sites, he says. “They don’t understand their business.

When a new startup business comes along, they often don’t get a chance from the banks to open their doors and conduct business.”

It was this sense of frustration that inspired him to create Allied Wallet, Khawaja says. To illustrate this commitment to helping startup businesses get off the ground by allowing them to accept payments online, he says Allied Wallet devotes 70% of its time to encouraging new businesses to use Allied Wallet to process online payments.

Khawaja’s rise to the top has been astonishing. Born in war-torn Beirut, Lebanon, he moved as a child to Europe. From there he moved to the US where he went to college and worked in a string of jobs including in a supermarket and flipping burgers in a fast food restaurant.

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Fact File

“To be named Customized Payment Solutions Provider of the Year, USA by Acquisition International is an “honour,” Khawaja says. “I’m very honoured. But without the support of my team, and our customers, I wouldn’t have got here.”

Company: AlliedWallet Name: Andy Khawaja Email: sales@alliedwallet.com Web: www.alliedwallet.com Address: Natasha Siggers, Allied Wallet, 1 Northumberland Avenue, Trafalgar Square, London, WC2N 5BW

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Andy Khawaja

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“I don’t believe in bad luck, I just believe in one thing: that if you give up then you’re a loser.

If you get knocked down, then you learn from it. You must always be moving forward.”

But even such menial jobs were formative, he says, as they put him face to face with customers. “I love to understand what people need, what makes them happy or upset,” he says. It gave him an understanding of what customers need, what they like to buy.

by Great Rated!, a division of the Great Place to Work Institute Inc, the global research, consulting and training firm that identifies, creates and sustains great workplaces by developing high-trust workplace cultures.

He went on to open a men’s fashion store in Los Angeles, which expanded into a chain. Soon afterwards he moved into online commerce.

Allied Wallet showed superior workplace culture in areas like professional development and training, company atmosphere, benefits, and rewards, with 96% of its employees saying they enjoy special and unique benefits by working for the online payment processor, citing free team lunches every Friday, on-site massages, and awards of up to US$25,000 for adoption costs.

A major issue in payment processing is, of course, security. Khawaja has built an online security system which offers level 1 PCI compliance, a secure service which hosts credit card numbers and other fragile information. Level 1 PCI is difficult to obtain, and offers the best security possible. Everything Allied Wallet does is stored on site, in multiple locations across the world.

Data is encrypted using tokenisation (the process of substituting a sensitive data element with a non-sensitive equivalent, or token, which has no extrinsic or exploitable meaning or value). This makes it impossible to get into the server because everything is turned into numbers and letters. Khawaja says he has learned a lot from examining other companies, notably rival PayPal, about the issues facing online payment processors – how to avoid being the victim of hackers, for example.

As for what clients should be looking for in a payment processor, Khawaja says “Someone who’s always ready to answer questions,” he says. “Someone who understands their business structure.”

Customers should have access to support 24/7, he says. “Lots of payment processors have maintenance periods,” he says, “but they never give an honest answer about when it will happen and how long it will take,” adding that Allied Wallet is always frank with its customers about scheduled maintenance periods.

To be named Customized Payment Solutions Provider of the Year, USA by Acquisition International is an honour, Khawaja says. “I’m very honoured. But without the support of my team, and our customers, I wouldn’t have got here.

“It’s a statement,” he says, “that we’re doing something great.

That we’re providing outstanding services.”

Allied Wallet has an “outstanding” working culture, Khawaja says.

This year, the company was rated one of the best places to work www.acquisition-intl.com

“We never call our team “employees,” says Khawaja. “The team are like family.” At other companies, like PayPal, he says, employees are known by a number, rather than their name. At Allied Wallet, he says, staff don’t have to arrive or leave on time, and can take breaks as and when they like. As long as they get their work done, Khawaja doesn’t mind. “We don’t want staff to be on the clock, because that’s what leads to stress,” he says. “We want an environment where you can think outside of the box. Allied Wallet is about being creative.”

Looking toward the not too distant future, Khawaja says the next big thing in payment processing will take the shape of a reloadable keychain, already in use in Japan, and completely fraud-proof.

Allied Wallet is now working on bringing the first similar system to the UK. As for challenges facing Allied Wallet, Khawaja says there are none.

“We’re winning the race,” he says. “We’re the master in global processing. Today, we’re changing the future of transactions.”

Khawaja and Allied Wallet have thus far been highly successful.

But how does he define success? “It’s when you start to achieve your goals,” he says. “But don’t let it get to your head, because it’s also about maintaining that success tomorrow.” A business can’t be successful if it isn’t growing, he says.

“I don’t believe in bad luck,” he says. “I just believe in one thing: that if you give up then you’re a loser. If you get knocked down, then you learn from it. You must always be moving forward.”

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Energy Firm of the Year - Mexico

Fermaca Fermaca is a pioneer in the energy sector and leads Mexico’s private market in the transportation of natural gas. Acquisition International spoke to CFO Octavio Berrón about what the company has been doing over the past year to be named Mexican Energy Firm of the Year.

On being named Energy Firm of the Year, Mexico by Acquisition International, Octavio Berrón, who has been the CFO of Fermaca Global since 2010, says, “It feels great. It’s a story of hard work over 50 years, and the commitment of everyone in the company.”

Fermaca is a large Mexican company active in the energy sector, constructing and maintaining natural gas pipelines and fuel storage developing and operating terminals.

Winning the award has brought a feeling of gratitude for the nomination and success, and pride at the recognition of the company’s commitment, he says.

Awards like the Acquisition International Business Excellence Awards send positive messages to the business community, he adds.

A pioneer in the energy sector, Fermaca leads the private market in the transportation of natural gas. The company currently owns and operate the Palmillas-Toluca pipeline, in central Mexico, and the Chihuahua pipeline, a 380km line that transports gas from the Mexico/US border to the city of Chihuahua.

Fermaca has also undertaken joint ventures with international market leaders in the construction and operation of compression facilities and the development of fuel storage terminals.

Additionally, Fermaca continues to develop an NG transport system to supply the Mexican market through an extensive business network with gas from the United States.

One of Fermaca’s objectives is to design, plan and manage projects in Mexico. The company has participated in numerous projects that develop Mexico’s infrastructure and help provide essential services to LPG storage plants, electric power generation plants, compression stations and pipelines for natural gas.

Fermaca has deep roots in construction and has developed multiple projects in all states of the Mexican Republic. The infrastructure that Fermaca has provided has improved numerous lives.

Preliminary engineering work is a prerequisite for any project and allows Fermaca to identify and select the most suitable methods of implementation.

The preliminary engineering work includes: concept and basic configurations; determining the appropriate technology; best routing; structural requirements; erosion control; traffic control; security; cost-effective engineering; and limiting environmental and cultural impacts.

This phase also includes the development of engineering and any necessary area studies in order to identify properties and their owners, verification of ancillary services and to begin the valuation of land and easements.

This is a fundamental step in the implementation of any project.

It includes managing the supply process of the required materials, as well as the acquisition of construction and maintenance services.

Fermaca has benefited from decades of project experience over the years, allowing the company to devise effective and successful procurement systems based on supplier selection, certification and quality control, assurance of timely delivery and administration of key processes.

Fermaca offers a host of professional services throughout the duration of a project. The primary objectives are to provide high-levels of quality and to make efficient use of time and money. The company has vast experience in project management and has a number of effective systems in place to administrate personnel, materials and equipment.

The Right of Way (ROW) is a legal permit that allows a portion of land which is owned privately, communally or publicly, which, in usual circumstances, has limited rights, to be used temporarily so that infrastructure can be built. It also involves the fair compensation of the land owners. Furthermore, it specifies the rights and obligations of the owners of the land to protect the future integrity of the project.

Fermaca is committed to being the number one pipeline and terminal company in Mexico, Berrón says. As an overriding philosophy, Fermaca dedicates itself to hard work and well-evaluated risks, with the support of the company’s shareholders, he says.

Fermaca, through its broad experience in the field of energy, is able to acquire the ROW for any project, with a dedicated team of specialised personnel dedicated to ROW acquisition.

Fermaca provides solutions predominately for natural gas, but also for other traditional hydrocarbon fuels. The company develops projects from conception to completion, managing the engineering, financing and construction.

Land ownership is often very difficult to establish in remote regions. Fermaca’s highly experienced ROW team plays a fundamental role in identifying owners and subsequently setting into motion the legal processes, which include, acquisition, registration

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Fact File

“Winning the award has brought a feeling of gratitude for the nomination and success, and pride at the recognition of the company’s commitment.”

Company: Fermaca Email: letstalk@fermaca.com.mx Web: www.fermaca.mx Address: Vito Alessio Robles No. 130 Col. La Florida, Del. Álvaro Obregón, México, D.F. Tel: +52 55 51486700

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and the integration and management of licenses and permits. The company’s experience with and knowledge of local and federal regulations have ensured our success in obtaining the necessary permits from the various regulatory agencies.

In addition to acquiring ROW, Fermaca also conducts comprehensive environmental studies to limit the effects that the company’s projects have on the environment.

The first step includes reviewing governmental documents and environmental regulations. It also involves reviewing completed studies on multiple aspects of nature, for instance, wildlife, soil, water, geology, climate and so on. Socio-economic aspects like population and their activities are also evaluated. Fermaca makes use of official documents produced by certified agencies. Once all the documents and studies have been reviewed, the project is analysed and an assessment on feasibility is made. If any aspects of the project are unfeasible, alternatives are sought.

The next step is to produce a manifest of the environmental impact. This is a detailed document which follows a strict format and outlines all the impact a project will have on the environment.

The final step is to determine mitigating measures and to establish a monitoring program which ensures that damage to the environment is kept to a minimum.

Fermaca also exhibits its dedication and commitment to the development of the energy sector through its Soto la Marina Natural Gas Compression Station, located in the North of Mexico. The compression system in Soto la Marina consists of three reciprocating compressor units that use internal combustion engines with a total installed capacity of 45,000 HP. At any given time there are two units in operation and another on relay, guaranteeing the transportation of over a BCFD of natural gas.

Mexico is in the midst of wide-ranging reforms to the energy sector. Among other things these will effectively end the 75-year-old oil monopoly of Mexico’s state oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos (Pemex). Established in 1938 as the world’s first major national oil company, Pemex remains an important source of government revenue even as it is struggling to counter the country’s declining oil production and reserves. Experts have long urged the Mexican government to reduce the heavy fiscal burden on Pemex and reform the constitution to enable Pemex to partner with international companies that have the experience and capital required for exploring Mexico’s large deep water and shale resources. Leftist parties and other stakeholders in Mexico remain concerned; however, that increasing private involvement in Pemex could threaten Mexico’s traditional control over its natural resources.

The reforms will remove hydrocarbons from the list of strategic sectors that can only be developed by the government and allowed Pemex to form “profit-sharing”11 partnerships with international companies in exploration and production. The reform would also have allowed Pemex to sign agreements with private companies for transporting oil and gas, refining, and producing petrochemicals. In secondary legislation, the President pledged to introduce reforms to give the company budget autonomy, improve its transparency, and change its fiscal structure, among other measures.

For companies like Fermaca, the reforms will also mean more competition as foreign energy firms move in. “The reforms have caught the attention of many international parties,” says Berrón. “The key is to be competitive, and exploit our home field advantage.”

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“Fermaca is committed to being the number one pipeline and terminal company in Mexico.

As an overriding philosophy, Fermaca dedicates itself to hard work and well-evaluated risks, with the support of the company’s shareholders.”

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Most Innovative Digital Agency of the Year - USA

Olson Acquisition International spoke to CEO John Partilla about how ad agency Olson is leading the way in digital engagement.

Minneapolis-based Olson, which also has offices in Austin, Chicago, Toronto, Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York, is one of the top three independent digital agency networks in North America.

With a digital core and deep expertise in digital, advertising, loyalty, CRM, PR, social and mobile, the more than 500-person-strong agency builds community and creates advocacy for some of the world’s most respected brand marketers.

Olson’s clients include such household names as Target, General mills, Pepsico, MillerCoors, Saucony, Sharp Electronics and Gopro, as well as a number of more local clients.

Outlining the company and its aims, Chief Executive Officer John Partilla says Olson is an “integrated, next generation agency.” Olson’s work is focused on driving engagement for its clients, creating content and experiences through a mix of media relations, digital, social, and experiential work. “We aim to revolutionise engagement between clients and the public,” Partilla says.

Partilla, who has 27 years of media and agency experience, has been the CEO of Olson since January 2013. Before that he was, from 2011, based in New York as the COO of Dentsu Network West at Dentsu Inc, a Japanese advertising and public relations company. Prior to Dentsu, Partilla held a number of positions at several different companies, including President of the Global Media Group and Senior Vice President of Time Warner Inc, and served as President of Global Marketing Group of Time Warner Inc. Asked how it feels to have been named Most Innovative Digital Agency of the Year in Acquisition International’s Business Excellence Awards, Partilla says the reaction at Olson has been one of elation. “It’s a thrill,” he says, “We’re thrilled and humbled by the recognition.”

To what does Olson owe this success? “By being a pioneering agency in a fast-changing market place,” says Partilla. “This award recognises the power of activating communities on behalf of brands.”

Awards like this are important to individual businesses like Olson, Partilla says, as well as to the wider industry. “What’s meaningful is the recognition of our work on behalf of clients. You don’t want to appear big-headed about it, but it’s an affirmation.” Awards like this are useful, he says, on a number of levels: they help both in pitch efforts with clients, who like to see that the agency has been recognised by an independent body for its consistently high performance, and also in recruiting top talent to the agency.

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The advertising business, Partilla says, is not an overly complicated one. Simply put, he says, “We’re here to help clients win.” Clients value Olson’s partnership approach, Partilla says, as well as the company’s straight-talking way of doing business. They don’t want a preacher, he says – they want a partner, someone who is willing to listen twice as much as they speak. “Ideas are in service of the mission,” says Partilla.

The “next big idea” in advertising, Partilla says, is convergence.

This allows one media outlet to take advantage of features and benefits offered through other media outlets – and, he says, will be key over the coming years.

“Convergence is the next digital,” he says. “Everyone’s spilling into everyone else’s business.”

In 2013, to highlight the firm’s commitment to this integration, Olson rebranded its PR and social media unit as Olson Engage. (The agency’s other groups include Olson, which handles brand and digital work, and Olson 1to1, which focuses on loyalty marketing.)

The creation of Olson Engage allowed staff to specialise in various divisions – such as creative, multicultural, media relations, emerging media, consumer, corporate, and public affairs.

“Today, it isn’t enough to just relate to the public,” reads Olson Engage’s online mission statement. “Communicating to an audience delivers awareness, but true engagement is what drives action.

It breeds loyalty. It encourages purchase. And it enables and rewards advocacy.

“The tools are ever-changing; technology and media are constantly evolving. But what remains consistent is the need to create and deliver relevant, compelling content to the communities that will embrace your brand and go to work for it. These people not only demonstrate their own loyalty through purchase, they also engage their own communities and networks, acting as brand champions.

So, by definition, our job goes beyond simply communicating to audiences. We have to inspire, involve, listen and, above all else, engage.”

Partilla has been at Olson for around 18 months now. During that time, the high point, he says, has been seeing the company grow organically, both enriching the existing client base and gaining more clients.

As an example, he cites a recent pitch to Wet n Wild cosmetics.

Olson didn’t just satisfy the client’s demands – they “shattered the glass,” as Wet n Wild executives put it.

Fact File

“We’re thrilled and humbled by the recognition. This award recognises the power of activating communities on behalf of brands.”

Company: Olson Name: John Partilla Email: jpartilla@olson.com Web: www.olson.com Address: 420 North 5th Street, Suite 1000, Minneapolis, MN 55401 Tel: +1 212.634.6462

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Minneapolis City Photo downtown skyline Minnesota Midwest

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20 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Over the next 12 months, Partilla says, Olson will continue to strengthen innovation.

One particular area of focus, he says will be on continuing to strengthen the company’s “anthropological strategic planning efforts”.

That may sound a little grandiose – but such efforts are an integral part of Olson’s philosophy. In 2010, Kate Sieck, a doctor of anthropology who spent nine years teaching in the anthropology departments at Stanford University and Emory University where her research addressed the links between motivation and behaviour, and her findings informed policies and practices affecting the relevant communities, left academia to become an associate director of cultural anthropology at Olson. Working within the Olson 1 to 1 division, she now develops Olson’s methods and conducts academic and in-field research for client projects and internal initiatives.

Sieck’s work spans topics as diverse as American families, health care, non-profits, and CPG brand development. Her particular interest lies in integrating disparate data points to locate opportunities for strengthening organisations and brands.

“At Olson 1to1, we approach every consumer challenge from the same starting place: with people in their everyday lives,” explains Sieck on the company’s website. “This approach is unique because it’s grounded in human relationships and produces more emotional and authentic loyalty, which we’ve found is longer-lasting and more profitable. We call this approach Olson Brand Anthropology.

“Brands win when they enhance and facilitate the relationships that matter to their customers—when they make their everyday lives easier, more enjoyable or richer. In this respect, brand loyalty is entangled with interpersonal loyalty.”

Olson is entrepreneurial as a company, Partilla says, adding that the company’s attitude could be described as “positively aggressive” – adopting a can-do attitude, to make sure Olson wins for the client. It’s a great environment to work in, says Partilla. Current

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employees talk about a “college-style” atmosphere within the office, which is spread out over 125,000 square feet of space on the top four floors of the renovated, 11-story Ford Center in Minneapolis. With free coffee, and sometimes beer, as well as numerous events like catered lunch and dodgeball, as well as views of the city’s nearby Target Field (home of the Minnesota Twins baseball team) it’s not surprising that many employees, who had left the company to take up another job, have later returned to Olson, saying that they missed the working culture there.

To nurture creativity within the company, and drive those all-important results, Partilla says, Olson sets the bar high. “It’s important to let everyone know the standards they have to meet. You have to inspire them, also.”

As CEO, Partilla of course plays an important role in building and maintaining the agency’s corporate culture. To do this, Partilla, who is known around the office as JP, says he has adopted the philosophy of the “servant leader.”

While servant leadership is a timeless concept, the phrase “servant leadership” was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf in “The Servant as Leader”, an essay that he first published in 1970. In that essay, Greenleaf said: “The servant-leader is servant first… It begins with the natural feeling that one wants to serve, to serve first. Then conscious choice brings one to aspire to lead. That person is sharply different from one who is leader first, perhaps because of the need to assuage an unusual power drive or to acquire material possessions…The leader-first and the servant-first are two extreme types.

Between them there are shadings and blends that are part of the infinite variety of human nature.”

“The leader establishes the mission,” explains Partilla. “He sets out strategies to help the client succeed. He sets goals. These are duties that you cannot delegate.

“The servant part is more difficult. I also see myself as working for everyone in this company. They can look at me as a resource to remove obstacles. To find resources to work with. Magic happens when the team believes I work for them.”

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Andrey Armyagov / Shutterstock.com

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22 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Saudi Management Team of the Year

Astra Group Arab Supply and Trading Corporation (ASTRA) is a Saudi group of companies with a history that goes back to the late sixties, when first founded by Mr. Sabih Taher Masri.

ASTRA has grown steadily into a diversified Group with operations in fields ranging from agriculture to trading, manufacturing, contracting and services, medical and healthcare and real estate, with subsidiaries and affiliates in other Middle East and Gulf countries.

All ASTRA companies operate in compliance with stringent quality controls and assurance standards and are governed by the Group’s policies, as well as relevant national and international standards.

During this brief period, ASTRA has succeeded in achieving a prominent position among the largest companies operating in the Kingdom, building an excellent reputation based on its mission plan, objectives and strategic direction. The Group is currently ranked 32 among the top 100 Saudi companies and is the second largest privately owned Group in the Kingdom. The Group employs more than 5,000 employees.

Astra has set the benchmark for every field in which it operates by maintaining the balance between cost-efficiency and quality, through the implementation of new technologies and advanced management techniques. In every endeavour, the Group has benefited from the wise leadership, generous incentives and continued support of the Government of Saudi Arabia. ASTRA is honoured to have contributed to the Kingdom’s self-sufficiency and expansion of its industrial and manufacturing base, thus providing employment opportunities.

Mission The ASTRA Group is dedicated to excellence in providing high quality products and services through its integrated group of Companies and affiliates with the goal of promoting the brand name of “ASTRA”.

ASTRA is committed to providing high quality products and service through a better understanding of customers’ needs; adding value; exceeding customers’ expectations; and building longterm, mutually beneficial relationship with them.

The driving force of Astra’s organisation is: - Dedication to continuous improvement, accountable leadership, and accomplishment of its mission.

- Delivering the best quality products and services.

- Attracting and developing highly skilled, knowledgeable employees who are committed to teamwork and success of the Group.

- Emphasising integrity, ethical business practices and respect clients and employees.

- Efficiently managing its resources and attaining financial success.

In order to achieve its set mission and philosophy, Astra, through its management team and its board representation in the subsidiaries and affiliates, leverages its contacts network along with its resources to assist the companies in achieving their own objectives.

At ASTRA we aim to differentiate ourselves from our competitors by investing in the value chain in any business we engage in to ensure excellent quality and improved cost.

Our industry is constantly changing and is highly competitive especially considering ASTRA’s diversity. We focus on research and development and are always on the lookout for new opportunities.

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Fact File “We are committed to providing high quality products and service through a better understanding of our customers’ needs; adding value to our customers; exceeding our customers’ expectations; and building long-term, mutually beneficial relationship with them.”

Company: Astra Group Email: astra@astra.com.sa Web: www.astra-group.net Address: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia P.O. Box: 3863 Zip Code: 11481 Tel: 966 1 477 1488 Fax: 966 1 478 0679

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Fedor Selivanov / Shutterstock.com

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24 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Islamic Banking Business Excellence Award, Saudi Arabia

The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector The Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD) is a multilateral organisation affiliated with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Group.

ICD’s authorised capital stands at US$2bn, of which US$1bn is available for subscription. Its shareholders consist of the IDB, 52 member countries and five public financial institutions. Headquartered in Jeddah, ICD was established by the IDB board of governors during its 24th annual meeting held in Jeddah in November 1999.

ICD provides financing and financial services in accordance with Islamic banking and finance principles as well as advisory services for a range of client requirements. Its mission is to complement the role played by IDB through the development and promotion of the private sector as a vehicle for economic growth and prosperity.

Its vision is to become a premier Islamic multilateral financial institution for the development of the private sector.

The mandate of ICD is to support the economic development of its member countries through provision of finance to private sector projects in accordance with the principles of the Shari’a law.

ICD finances projects that are specifically geared to creating employment opportunities and boosting exports. Furthermore, ICD mobilises additional resources for projects and encourages the development of Islamic financing and capital markets. It also attracts co-financiers for its projects and provides advice to governments and private sector groups on policies aimed at encouraging the establishment, expansion and modernisation of private enterprises, development of capital markets, best management practices and enhancing the role of market economy.

The board of directors is mainly responsible for the adoption of policies, operations strategy, budgets, and the general conduct of the operations of ICD within the powers delegated to it by the General Assembly. The BOD consists of 10 members and is chaired the President of the IDB Group. It also includes the CEO & General Manager of ICD along with the representatives of IDB, member country group from Africa, Asia, Arab Asia, Public financial institutions and a permanent member from Saudi Arabia.

ICD mainly focuses on activities where they can make the highest impact in promoting the private sector in its member countries.

ICD also focused on playing a role of catalyst for other project sponsors to invest in its member countries. In sum, 2013 was yet another successful year for ICD to substantially expand its support for private sector growth to meet increasing demand for infrastructure, economic modernisation, and financing for small- and medium-sized businesses.

Despite the global downturn and persistence of uncertainties in 2013, ICD approved 28 projects, 4 Qard Hasan and 3 Capital increase for total amount of USD 508.18 million in 2013. These

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projects added value to the economic and social development of member countries through new job creation, technology transfer and through cross-border investments.

Fact File

As part of the 2013 work program, a Portfolio Performance Review for 115 projects in nine member countries was undertaken.

The objective of the review was to quantitatively and qualitatively describe and assess the performance, results, and sustainability of ICD’s interventions.

ICD’s exposure stretches during 2013 over 32 countries and 3 Regional Projects. Saudi Arabia was holding the highest portion followed by Uzbekistan, Turkey and Yemen. ICD also exposure spread over 8 different sectors, where the financial sector has the largest share of the exposure followed by Industry and Mining Sector.

There are many initiatives undertaken during 2014. ICD is launching an Ijara Company in Palestine, an Ijara Company in Malaysia, signed the Aluminium project in Kazakhstan and signed an agreement for structuring several Shariah-complaint finance mechanisms to address the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the unemployed youth in Libya, to name just a few of these activities.ICD’s mandates to serve the private sector of member countries are carried out through a number of products offered to clients. The corporation finances private sector entities, Greenfield and expansion projects directly through equity participation, purchase of assignable bonds and term financing. ICD also extends short-term finance to cover working capital or raw materials requirements of private sector entities through Murabaha or Purchase and Lease-Back.

Furthermore, ICD extends lines of financing to commercial banks and national development financing institutions in member countries to indirectly finance their small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

ICD sponsors, manages (as Mudarib) and participates in mutual funds and other special purpose investment vehicles designed to invest or finance projects in accordance with its mandate. At the same time, it structures, arranges, and underwrites syndications.

Furthermore, it manages shares and securities issues, makes private placements and carries out securitisations for its clients.

“ICD provides financing and financial services in accordance with Islamic banking and finance principles as well as advisory services for a range of client requirements. Its mission is to complement the role played by IDB through the development and promotion of the private sector as a vehicle for economic growth and prosperity.

Its vision is to become a premier Islamic multilateral financial institution for the development of the private sector.”

Company: Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector Name: Nabil El-Alami Email: NAlami@isdb.org Web: www.isdb.org

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ICD Products and Services

3) Advisory Services and Asset Management

1) Long and Short-term Financing

ICD provides a wide variety of advisory services to governments, public entities and private entities of member countries with an aim to create the ideal environment to facilitate private sector investment and also to assist companies in achieving their potential.

The range of services include assessing the business environment of member countries, plus project finance advisory, raising funds though the issue of Sukuk, development of Islamic capital markets and encouraging the development of the business environment for SMEs.

ICD finances private sector entities and Greenfield or expansion projects directly through equity participation, the purchase of assignable bonds and term financing. ICD also extends short-term finance to cover working capital and/or raw materials requirements of private sector entities through Murabaha or Purchase and Lease-Back for a tenor of up to 24 months. ICD can also play a role in mobilizing resources for financing a project through co-financing or syndication.

2) Developing Islamic Financial Institutions and Extending Lines of Finance ICD strives to nurture and empower identified channel partners, by setting up or aiding existing development banks in driving development and growth in the Islamic world. This vertically leverages two key instruments in order to extend financial aid: Institutional Equities and Lines of Finance.

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26 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Energy Finance Solutions Provider of the Year - USA

Mercatus Inc Founded in 2009 and is based in San Jose, California, Mercatus Inc. is a leading solutions provider for the energy finance industry.

Tell us about Mercatus Inc, your clients and the services you offer.

Mercatus Inc. is a provider of enterprise-level, on-demand software solutions and services for the energy finance industry. Our solution is helping customers grow their business faster by increasing the bandwidth of origination teams and improving management visibility into the pipeline. Mercatus’ comprehensive renewable energy deal origination solution improves investment speed and quality and reduces overall financing costs of energy projects.

Energy investors who need a unified view of screening, diligence and underwriting best practices use Mercatus’ innovative solution.

Our vision is to be the leading origination-to-syndication platform for energy investors.

How does it feel to have been named Energy Finance Solutions Provider of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

Mercatus is proud to be selected as Energy Finance Solutions Provider of the Year. Mercatus’ customer list includes some of the largest energy brands and this award further validates that market leaders see great benefits in the Mercatus platform. The phenomenal growth in distributed generation energy brings a whole new set of challenges for energy investors and Mercatus is helping them grow quickly and efficiently without losing visibility and control over their business. Helping industry leaders create solutions to improve their business has been a gratifying experience for Mercatus. This award acknowledges the importance of streamlining the energy finance process and highlights the need for a centralised system where a variety of parties can collaborate to efficiently finance the growing number of energy projects.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Mercatus and to your wider industry?

This is very important because it shows that the industry recognises the value software technology can bring to improving the energy finance process. For Mercatus, it is a recognition that our software is helping customers increase their efficiency by expediting their screening process. This recognition is a way for the broad swathe of 5000 potential new investors eying the market to learn about solutions that can propel their growth and mitigate market entry risks.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Energy Finance Solutions Provider of the Year?

Our customers are our main area of focus. We strive to listen to their needs and build solutions that will bring them significant benefit. Regardless of their investment model, Mercatus will adapt to their needs so that we can bring great operational efficiencies to their business with their current resources. Specifically, we have focused on the gap between development channel partners, our clients and their interface to the capital markets. The three par-

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ties are missing a critical tool to bridge a major communication and transparency gap. Much of our time is spent on improving document and data management from disparate locations, empowering collaboration across multiple parties and developing a standard financial model and scoring system. We strive to simplify a very sophisticated financial product set and enable our clients to support it for their customer base, which is primarily made up of construction and engineering companies.

Tell us about Mercatus’ overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients. What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service? What, in your opinion, is true “business excellence”?

We view our clients as partners. When they succeed, we succeed.

We obsess over solving their problems and working collaboratively to come up with a scalable, repeatable solution Thus our main focus is to partner with them in developing the best practices for automating and standardising the entire financing process, from origination to syndication. Business excellence is our ability to listen to customers, anticipate solutions they will need and executing flawlessly on whatever we commit to.

What should clients be looking for when seeking to work with a business in your sector and how does Mercatus go about meeting these requirements?

Customers should look for a partner that understands their industry and business model and is going to listen to their needs. Customers should look for a solution provider that will listen and adapt their solution as businesses and market dynamics change.

Tell us about the culture within Mercatus and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

Our culture and values rest on three main areas: integrity, focus and innovation.

It starts with integrity. We build a reputation of integrity with customers, suppliers, employees and shareholders to create a strong company foundation that we can build value on. To earn and maintain the trust of our customers, suppliers and shareholders we operate with honesty and consistency, without exception. It is part of our much larger value system, not something we’ve simply decided to “have.”

Focus allows us to do what we do best and do it better than everyone else in the market. At Mercatus we have focused on automating time-consuming processes, such as project origination, acquisition, aggregation and syndication so we can enable energy investors to do what they do best: value-added investing.

Fact File

“Mercatus is proud to be selected as Energy Finance Solutions Provider of the Year.

Mercatus’ customer list includes some of the largest energy brands and this award further validates that market leaders see great benefits in the Mercatus platform.”

Company: Mercatus Inc Name: Tim Buchner Email: info@gomercatus.com Web: www.gomercatus.com Address: 1735 Technology Drive, Suite 250 San Jose, CA 95110 United States of America Tel: + 1 408 796 3140 Fax: + 1 408 369 9633

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Innovation is the key to developing cutting edge solutions that can give our customers a competitive advantage. The key drivers for our innovation stem from enabling our customers to be more effective and efficient at decision making and helping them be more competitive.

energy finance companies to become more nimble than ever before. Our customers’ operational efficiency, critical to their success, is threatened by the complexity of its operations and its fast growth. Our mission is to give them the tools to grow their business efficiently and capitalise on the growth trend.

What sets Mercatus apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

Renewable energy financing is growing rapidly. When energy companies expand with this growth, they often increase their overhead and lose visibility into the operations. Mercatus allows them to effectively scale their business with current resources while providing increased visibility into the operations. Ultimately this empowers our customers to expedited decision making.

What developments or changes do you see having the biggest impact on your business and industry over the coming year and where do you think the biggest opportunities – and challenges – will lie?

The availability and cost of capital is one of the biggest drivers of change for the renewable energy sector. Successful companies will be the ones that can deploy the capital at the lowest cost of origination, which means the need to improve efficiency and decrease costs for project financing. The biggest challenge will be to get disparate parties to standardise data, documents and processes for origination.

A key differentiator for Mercatus is our deep industry knowledge and experience. Many companies can build software to support processes but only Mercatus is building one that is specifically tailored to the unique needs of energy financiers. Our customers have plenty of choices in selecting solid software solutions but they choose Mercatus because of our domain knowledge. We know their business really well and are able to bring best practices and insights to improve their competitiveness.

What have been the most prevalent trends in your industry over the past 12 months and what have you done to ensure that you are always at the forefront of any new developments?

The major shift from centralised power to distributed power is creating opportunities for new players and threats for incumbents.

The industry is entering a rapid growth phase which is pressuring

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28 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Solution & Growth Focused Training Firm of the Year - International

Alchemy Systems Founded in 2003, Alchemy Systems is a global leader of innovative technologies and services designed to align employee behaviour with a company’s quality and safety commitments.

Tell us about Alchemy Systems, your clients and the services you offer.

Founded in 2003, Alchemy Systems is a global leader of innovative technologies and services designed to align employee behaviour with a company’s quality and safety commitments. From farm to fork, we focus on building successful safety cultures for large, diverse work forces. Over the last decade, we have partnered with our customers to increase productivity, ensure regulatory compliance, foster safe working environments and produce quality products.

How does it feel to have been named Solution & Growth Focused Training Firm of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

It is an honour to be called out for an award that recognizes excellence in the work that we do. We owe it to our customers who partner with us to develop innovative technologies that help us to provide practical solutions. They inspire us strive for superior quality in our products and services and help to fuel our growth and visions.

We also have a great deal of gratitude to our employees. We consider them greatest asset -- they are passionate about what we do and the altruistic goals we have with regard to protecting the global food supply. Our employees also help us to identify opportunities for growth and strategies for creating value in our core markets.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Solution & Growth Focused Training Firm of the Year?

We focus on being customer driven. Our customers within the food system live in a world that is consumed with high-risk and extremely complex operations. Every day they are battling demanding pressures from customers and ever-changing regulatory requirements and industry standards, all with an increasingly diverse workforce that must be kept safe, productive and profitable. Keeping that in mind, our products and services must consistently evolve to stay ahead of our customer needs and provide valuable ROI in their operations.

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Tell us about Alchemy Systems’ overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients. What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service? What, in your opinion, is true ‘business excellence’?

For us, excellence is measured by the success of our customers.

Our goal is to make a difference at the root of one of the world’s most basic commodities – the food supply. By providing effective training and verifying that those competencies are put into practice, we make our customers’ employees the foundation for food safety. Excellence for us is achieved whenever our customers are able to confidently deliver high-quality products.

What should clients be looking for when seeking a training firm and how does Alchemy Systems go about meeting these requirements?

When looking for a training firm it’s important to find a company that is agile, innovative, operates as a partner or extension of your business, and provides world-class support.

We offer our customer’s valuable expertise and best practices for aligning employees with their own company goals and commitments.

Our unique communication platform is designed to help our customers optimize their workforce and drive efficiency across their global organizations. Most importantly, our professional and well-renowned customer operations team holds their hand every step of the way, guiding them towards a culture focused on continuous improvement.

What sets Alchemy Systems apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

Alchemy’s commitment to growth and innovation based on our customers’ needs is what truly sets us apart. It’s because of the long-standing and mutually rewarding relationships with our customer base and industry organizations that we are able to help companies be leaders in their industry by doing the right thing and making a difference in their employees and ultimately the end-consumer’s life.

Fact File

“It is an honour to be called out for an award that recognises excellence in the work that we do. We owe it to our customers who partner with us to develop innovative technologies that help us to provide practical solutions.”

Company: Alchemy Systems Name: Tara Guthrie Email: tara.guthrie@ alchemysystems.com Web: www.alchemysystems.com Address: 8015 Shoal Creek Blvd., Suite 100, Austin, TX 78757 Tel: +1 512-637-5100 Fax: +1 512-637-5168

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2014 Growth Award: Independent Power Generator of the Year - UK

Alkane Energy plc Alkane Energy is one of the UK’s fastest growing independent power generators.

How does it feel to have been named Independent Power Generator of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

We feel very proud and extremely pleased to receive this award as it demonstrates the progress we have made to date. We have a dedicated and focused team of people and this award acknowledges our expert knowledge in this field.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Alkane Energy plc and to your wider industry?

It’s always good to be recognised, especially for a growing company such as Alkane. Our industry has received lots of UK press regarding the potential energy gap. However, awards such as this recognise that progress is being made to address these issues.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Independent Power Generator of the Year?

The market price of electricity, the risk of unsuccessful drilling operations and UK uncertainty around energy policy all create challenges for Alkane. However, we have increased output by 15% to a record 192GWh by focussing on growing the business.

We have opened two new sites in 2013 and acquired one site through acquisition. We have also successfully won STOR (short term operating reserve) contracts running until March 2015, more than doubling revenue since 2012. We have delivered our fourth design, build and operation site and installed small-scale test installations of solar panels. Alkane continues to grow and expand.

Tell us about Alkane Energy plc’s overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients. What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service?

Either supplying 24/7 baseload generation, or peaking plant in power response, Alkane has to deliver to a competitive price sensitive market on a reliable basis. So the key things we have to work on to win market share are price, reliability and safety.

What should clients be looking for when seeking to work with a business in your sector and how does Alkane Energy plc go about meeting these requirements?

Alkane has a range of core skills encompassing the entire project development cycle including planning and permitting, sourcing plant and managing the build and commissioning stage. This enables us to establish a design, build and operate business for third party clients in the biogas and oil and gas industries.

What sets Alkane Energy plc apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

Alkane’s aim is to develop a profitable multi-divisional gas to power group to exploit the opportunities in a power generation market where the industry regulator, Ofgem, have forecast shrinking supply margin over the coming years. Using our knowledge of CMM, STOR and power response, plus a continuing growing market for biogas and small-scale solar panels, assists us in focusing on building in areas which will offer long term generation and ownership opportunities.

Fact File

“We feel very proud and extremely pleased to receive this award as it demonstrates the progress we have made to date. We have a dedicated and focused team of people and this award acknowledges our expert knowledge in this field.”

Company: Alkane Energy plc Name: Neil O’Brien Email: info@alkane.co.uk Web: www.alkane.co.uk Address: Edwinstowe House, Edwinstowe, Notts, NG21 9PR Tel: +44(0)1623 827927 Fax: +44(0)1623 827930

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30 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

US CEO of the Year - Telecommunications

AstraQom Dr. Jonathan Sowah, CEO of communications provider AstraQom, tells us why the company has become so successful in an incredibly competitive market.

The global business sector is fast changing and businesses need a communications partner with a muscle to support their needs on an international scale as well as local. AstraQom understands that businesses need a communications partner with solutions that scale and adapt as their business needs change.

They may need a few phones lines for voice. Or they may require a fully integrated solution that enables sharing of documents, video conferencing and access to corporate applications from any location. Whatever their size and whatever their need, we are constantly looking for new, innovative ways to help our business customers grasp every opportunity in a simple and straightforward way.

From its beginning as a Canadian carrier, AstraQom has grown into a formidable global telecom operator, and it continues to see

rapid growth and to provide flexible telephony-related solutions by using cutting-edge technology backed by extraordinary multilingual customer service.

Our commitment to the community in which we operate extends beyond the products and services we offer.

We are happy to be the company that has rapidly aligned the communications playing fields for small and medium businesses by making phone systems even more reliable, powerful, affordable, scalable and manageable, and at the same time even more flexible to implement and maintain.

Connecting the world, one business at a time, AstraQom is the best option in the area of business communications because we are very innovative, smart, customer-focused, we have unique products, offer stability, charge fair prices and are strong to meet clients’ needs but flexible to treat them as individuals. We are very committed to helping our clients grow.

Because of our global reach, we really understand the needs of a wide variety of today’s businesses, regardless of what niche or market they operate in, and our professionally trained staff are committed to the provision of a warm and informative service to our existing customers as well as to pre-sales enquires. We know that no two businesses are the same and expect that communication needs can be very unique.

Each of our subsidiaries has a nationally focused network architecture that links up with the global network architecture of AstraQom International. With us, you enjoy both excellent local links as well as access to our huge international backbone network.

With a global headquarters in the heart of Silicon Valley, AstraQom has Points of Presence across the world and use its own private network to reach client devices. Using various National Command Centers, each customer device connected to the network is monitored and clients are alerted if they lose connectivity to provide constant peace of mind. Calls are then rerouted to alternative numbers so no calls are lost due to client issues with the internet. Our products have been developed and designed in a way to provide our customers a business phone system that is meant to work for their business and not against them.

We owe our increasing success to the commitment of our global staff who support our innovative solutions, as well as our loyal clients and their appreciation for our ever improving highly attractive products and services.

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Fact File

“We are happy to be the company that has rapidly aligned the communications playing fields for small and medium businesses by making phone systems even more reliable, powerful, affordable, scalable and manageable, and at the same time even more flexible to implement and maintain.”

Company: AstraQom Name: Dr. Jonathan Sowah Email: jonathan.sowah@astraqom.com Web: www.astraqom.com Address: 2033 Gateway Place, Suite 628, San Jose,CA 95110

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 31

Enterprise Cloud Computing Specialist of the Year - UK

CloudOrigin Limited Based in London but operating globally, CloudOrigin exists to accelerate the adoption of enterprise cloud computing in public and private sectors.

How does it feel to have been named Enterprise Cloud Computing Specialist of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

We realised in 2009 when we founded the firm that “cloud” really represented a fundamental change in the commercial model and business practices of the whole IT industry, and hence clients would need an independent specialist advisor who understood the traditional technology landscape but was free to recommend cloud benefits as they emerged. It is a huge honour six years later to be voted Enterprise Cloud Specialist of the Year by the market, at a time when cloud is now the cornerstone of the IT industry, and so many firms would covet this award.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Enterprise Cloud Computing Specialist of the Year?

Our greatest challenge is to keep pace with the rate of technical and commercial innovation across the cloud sector. Fortunately our range of contacts at C-level in providers and end-users keep us connected to what is actually working in the field, and which tools are still immature. As a Judge for the Broad Group Datacentre Europe awards our CEO also sees the best case studies and new product launches across Europe.

What should clients be looking for when seeking a cloud computing specialist and how does CloudOrigin Limited go about meeting these requirements?

Above all they should expect pragmatic advice with clear business and technical rationale. The IT sector is prone to hype which all

too often obscures the genuine benefits, as well as scare stories popular in the press and with entrenched technology suppliers.

Unpicking the real issues that apply to any given customer or investment is essential, then quantifying the risks and opportunity.

Finally we are prepared to give concrete, prioritised recommendations and work with the client to implement them whether as a coach, prime contractor or in a quality and governance role.

It is also all too easy to throw investment at immature technologies and providers, or to reinvent the wheel in such a fast moving sector, so we take care to ensure our clients avoid these common mistakes and focus on disruptive innovation unique to their business goals.

What sets CloudOrigin Limited apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

We are fortunate to a have a unique position in the enterprise IT world – working with many of the world’s fastest growth cloud and Software as a Service providers, the Private Equity and Venture Capital investment community focused on this sector, and some of the world’s largest end-users on their overall IT strategy and adoption of cloud. Hence we see customer demand, new technologies and offerings often before they emerge in the general market and see the flows of investment capital fuelling the industry.

Fact File

C CloudOrigin

“It is a huge honour six years later to be voted Enterprise Cloud Specialist of the Year by the market, at a time when cloud is now the cornerstone of the IT industry, and so many firms would covet this award.”

Company: CloudOrigin Limited Name: Richard Hall Email: Richard.Hall@CloudOrigin.com Web: www.CloudOrigin.com Address: Exchange Building, London, UK Tel: +44 203 642 5715

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32 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Businesswoman of the Year - Puerto Rico

Myrna M. Rivera,CIMA® Consultiva Internacional Inc. Myrna M. Rivera,CIMA® has been an investment advisory consultant since 1983 and CIMA-certified since 1996. In 1999 she founded Consultiva Internacional, an independent investment advisory consulting firm based in San Juan, Puerto Rico that formulates, implements and monitors investment policy and strategy for institutions, state government entities, individuals and families.

How does it feel to have been named Businesswoman of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

This is a quite unexpected, but welcome surprise. The team at Consultiva Internacional has worked very hard over the past 15 years to develop methodologies and mind-sets that can add value to our clients’ portfolios and to their investment pursuits.

ment risk factors into the securities analysis process across asset classes.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individuals like yourself and to your wider industry?

I believe that these industry interactions help set standards and define best practices. This is vital for both professionals and clients.

Whether investing their own money or acting as fiduciary stewards, peer recognitions can be benchmarks for clients, setting standards of excellence to pursue as they seek out and engage their advisors.

Tell us about your overriding philosophy when it comes to business.

What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service and how have you gone about honing your skills in these areas?

First and foremost, we are fiduciaries, and therefore subject to duties of care and loyalty. As such, our work is driven by each client’s ‘north’: “what are you trying to accomplish, and how can these assets get you there?” We invest substantial time and resources in this conversation and employ technology to simulate and document potential investment scenarios. All subsequent designs and recommendations must be defendable in this context, including tax and expense considerations.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Businesswoman of the Year?

We have focused quite keenly on risk management for several years. How to “de-risk” client portfolios by prudently adding asset classes that can be true diversifiers and dampen volatility. This includes alternatives investment as well as Venture Capital and Private Equity whenever possible. In particular, we are actively engaged in developing a VC and PE eco-system in our primary market, Puerto Rico, in order to inject local and global capital into local companies, thus aiding in propelling our economic growth.

We also incorporate environmental, social and governance invest-

Tell us about the culture within your company and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients and your colleagues?

Consultiva Internacional’s clients are clients of the firm, rather than a specific rep, as is traditional in the brokerage industry. Ours is a team approach, and each client is assigned a “lead adviser”.

Our advisers, administration and operations teams, as well as our research team, all interact in a multi-level protocol with each of our clients. Furthermore, the common stock of the company is owned by employees, promoting a mindset that we are all invested in the success of the firm.

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Fact File

“This is a quite unexpected, but welcome surprise. The team at Consultiva Internacional has worked very hard over the past 15 years to develop methodologies and mindsets that can add value to our clients’ portfolios and to their investment pursuits.”

Company: Consultiva Internacional Inc. Name: Myrna M. Rivera,CIMA® Email: mrivera@consultiva.com Web: www.consultiva.com Address: City View Plaza Tower 1, Suite 801 Carr. 165 Km. 1.2 #48 Guaynabo, PR 00968 Tel: +1 (787) 763-5868 Fax: +1 (787) 763-5397

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 33

Most Sustainable Technology Company of the Year - USA

Cool Planet Energy Systems Cool Planet is a technology company that is developing sustainable products to address three of the world’s largest markets: energy, food and water. Currently we are commercialising a technology to create green fuels and biochar in a way that can change the world for good.

Our green fuels are chemically identical to fossil fuels and can be blended into the current fuel supply to reduce greenhouse gases from the air without sacrificing performance or increasing prices at the pump.

Our biochar products sequester carbon and deliver transformative benefits to industries as diverse as agriculture, chemicals and pharmaceuticals.

Our technology allows us to build smaller, significantly less expensive facilities closer to biomass feedstock, so we can expand rapidly, achieve lower scale-up risk and continuously innovate and improve with each distributed facility.

Our strategic investors include BP, Google Ventures, Energy Technology Ventures (GE, ConocoPhillips, NRG Energy) and the Constellation division of Exelon.

Even though they come from a different source, Cool Planet’s gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel blendstocks can be blended into the current fuel supply to reduce CO2 0from the air without sacrificing performance or increasing prices at the pump.

The company’s fuels create greener gasoline and diesel that are the same, high-octane hydrocarbons that is powering our vehicles today.

We have undergone testing inside real vehicles and are ready for use at the pump without any changes to our current vehicle fleet or fuel infrastructure.

requiring no change to existing conventional fuel distribution systems.

The third process is carbon capture. Once the useful components for fuel have been removed, the biofractionation captures the leftover plant matter in a solid carbon form called biochar. This excess carbon is highly porous and has beneficial water and nutrient retaining capabilities. By creating renewable fuel and sequestering the biochar in the ground as soil enhancer, we permanently remove atmospheric CO2 for hundreds of years.

Due to the company’s patented technology and biochar products, our green fuels have the capability to be carbon negative, beating the carbon footprints of electric and natural gas alternatives.

Fact File

“Due to the company’s patented technology and biochar products, our green fuels have the capability to be carbon negative, beating the carbon footprints of electric and natural gas alternatives.”

Company: Cool Planet Energy Systems Name: Michael Rocke Email: Michael.Rocke@ Coolplanet.com Web: www.coolplanet.com Address: 6400 S. Fiddlers Green Circle Greenwood Village, CO 80111 Tel: +1-303-221-2029

The company’s low-cost technology and business model will allow us to produce green fuels at prices that are highly competitive with the traditional fossil fuels business.

Cool Planet’s patented technology is comprised of three revolutionary core components.

The first of these is biomass pyrolysis, in which biomass is processed through a mechanical system that uses pressure and heat to create streams of useful hydrocarbon components. Cool Planet’s sources of biomass include corn stover, wood chips, and fast growing, non-food energy crops such as miscanthus.

Another is catalytic conversion. Cool Planet has developed a number of proprietary catalytic conversion processes to convert these useful hydrocarbon components into different types of fuels. One of our catalytic conversion processes creates a high-octane gasoline blend stock that can be used in today’s standard automobiles

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34 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Integrated Risk Management Firm of the Year - Germany

Dr. Bellof Consulting Dr. Bellof Consulting provides high professional consulting services for all aspects of risk management to its clients, who mainly come from the chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries.

How does it feel to have been named Integrated Risk Management Firm of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

We are very proud of this award, as it reflects the appreciation and satisfaction of our clients with our professional services.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Dr. Bellof Consulting and to your wider industry?

We are in constant competition with hundreds or thousands of consulting firms around the globe, and so awards like this are very important to distinguish oneself as a reliable professional who has a proven ability to create value for our clients´ businesses.

Tell us about Dr. Bellof Consulting’s overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients. What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service?

Each consulting service is based on a preceding assessment of the client´s needs, forming the foundation for concepts that lead to tailor-made solutions for the client´s problems.

What should clients be looking for when seeking a risk management firm and how does Dr. Bellof Consulting go about meeting these requirements?

Clients should be looking for support that applies professional project management to guarantee permanent transparency,

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measurable results and comprehensive monitoring throughout all project steps. Our experience and the application of well-established methodology and approved tools will ensure fast project implementation, reduced efforts and significant cost savings. We offer a one-stop shop, starting from project planning up to the establishment of all relevant documentation.

Tell us about the culture within Dr. Bellof Consulting and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

The close involvement of our clients in each individual phase of the consulting project is important to us – it means we can ensure that all results are readily accepted and will be smoothly implemented in the line functions involved.

What sets Dr. Bellof Consulting apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

We know our clients’ businesses and we speak their language.

With more than 25 years of professional experience in pharmaceutical industry, we have profound knowledge of the trade and know-how in the production of pharmaceutical drugs and active pharmaceutical ingredients and broad expertise of operational risk management, as well as in-depth knowledge of health, safety and environment standards in the pharmaceutical industry and much experience in HSE and third party auditing.

Fact File

“We are very proud of this award, as it reflects the appreciation and satisfaction of our clients with our professional services.”

Company: Dr. Bellof Consulting Name: Dr. Dieter Bellof Email: dieter@bellof-consulting.de Web: www.bellof-consulting.de Address: Oberer Garten 9 D-79400 Kandern Tel: +49 (0)7626 970879 Fax: +49 (0)7626 970878

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 35

Islamic Bank of the Year - UAE and Most Established Bank of the Year - UAE

Dubai Islamic Bank Dubai Islamic Bank created history in 1975 by becoming the first bank to incorporate all the principles of Islam in all its practices. The bank, which was formed by a decree issued by the Ruler of Dubai, has dedicated its efforts for almost four decades to develop the sector, launching innovative products and participating in the overall economic development witnessed across Dubai and the UAE. DIB has been able to do this by introducing a vision of development from a modern perspective that is in full compliance with the principles of Sharia.

Prior to the establishment of the bank, customers did not have access to Shariah compliant banking services. DIB pioneered this form of banking and established an alternative based on fairness and transparency. In this regard, the bank has set itself up as the undisputed leader in its field, as the concept of Islamic banking has gathered momentum not just in the Arab world but internationally over the past few years.

By focusing on innovation and excellence, DIB has progressed from being the pioneer of Islamic finance to attaining the status of the UAE’s largest Islamic bank with a customer base of over 1.4 million customers and a wide network of more than 86 branches.

This focus on growth and development has also allowed the bank to compete on equal footing with the world’s largest conventional players as the bank positioned itself as a service provider for the whole sector, not just the Islamic niche.

DIB’s rich heritage, unrivalled expertise in its field and its tradition in innovation has positioned it to be the leader in an industry that is worth approximately AED 30 trillion. DIB has been critical in developing this sector, by continually setting the standard for others to follow. The bank’s robust capitalization and significant liquidity will continue enhances the bank’s ability to invest and grow the business of Islamic finance in the UAE and beyond and will allow it to be the main leader in supporting His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE, and Ruler of Dubai, vision of making Dubai the global capital of the Islamic economy.

While there continue to be challenges to the growth of this sector, we strongly believe in its potential and envision that the Islamic banking sector will enter a new period of expansion over the next few years.

With a strong emphasis on providing unparalleled customer service, the bank continually invests in evolving its offerings to meet the changing needs of its customers. DIB serves consumer, commercial, corporate and institutional clients through dedicated divisions staffed by the industry’s best professionals and has developed a product suite that encompasses all areas of the banking sector, positioning the bank as a major player in the region.

As one of the most progressive banks in the country, business excellence at DIB is achieved through delivery of the right financial services designed to help customers meet their banking needs while providing them with accessibility, security and convenience.

This focus on diversification is an essential part of our growth strategy and has led to the development of a series of initiatives that have allowed us to better serve our customers, across the entire spectrum of commercial banking.

For this contribution to the banking industry, DIB has earned the respect of its peers around the world with specific recognition on its efforts in developing the Islamic Banking sector. The bank’s leading position has been reaffirmed by more than 200 local, regional and international accolades that it has won since 2004.

We are proud of our heritage and the recognition received which is a testament to our achievements over the years. Our latest “Islamic Bank of the Year” and “Most Established bank of the year” awards are a further testament to this success and encourage financial institutions to follow best practices whether that is for development of banking products or wider industry focused such as Human Resource development and CSR focused initiatives.

Fact File

“We are proud of our heritage and the recognition received which is a testament to our achievements over the years. Our latest “Islamic Bank of the Year” and “Most Established bank of the year” awards are a further testament to this success and encourage financial institutions to follow best practices whether that is for development of banking products or wider industry focused such as Human Resource development and CSR focused initiatives.”

Company: Dubai Islamic Bank Web: www.dib.ae

Its Johara ladies banking and Wajaha wealth management divisions are specialised departments dedicated to serving women and high-net-worth individuals respectively. Recently, the bank launched its Takaful (Islamic insurance) business whilst simultaneously creating new offerings for the fast growing SME sector, which together with its Consumer division has now formed the largest business for the bank with one of the most expansive customer base in the UAE.

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36 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Financial Services MD of the Year - Guernsey

Heritage International Fund Managers Limited Mark Huntley established Heritage International Fund Managers Limited (“HIFM”), a management owned company, in 2006, along with two of his colleagues, Laurence McNairn and Tim Davison. A founder member of the Channel Islands Stock Exchange and a frequent speaker at leading industry conferences and seminars, Mark has been a key figure in the funds industry in Guernsey for more than 25 years.

HIFM is a full service Guernsey fund administrator with assets under management and administration in excess of US$50billion.

The company forms part of Heritage Fund Services (the financial services division of the Heritage Group) which has additional offices located in the UK and Malta. HIFM services a broad range of structures across multiple jurisdictions and has particular expertise in the establishment and servicing of private equity, property, infrastructure, emerging markets and esoteric (forestry, shipping, litigation) funds.

HIFM was involved with a significant number of projects during the past year in which clients have raised funds through the public markets. Notable achievements include the appointment as administrator to the ICG-Longbow Senior Secured UK Property Debt Fund – the first fund IPO of 2013 – and the addition of another renewable energy fund to its portfolio in the form of Bluefield’s Solar Income Fund. However, the outstanding success for HIFM was the appointment as fund administrator for Riverstone Energy Limited - the largest Investment Company IPO of 2013, raising an impressive £760m through a placing and offer for subscription.

It proved to be a successful year not only for HIFM but also its client base. Recent reports show that HIFM clients, both established funds and new mandates, succeeded in clinching 6 positions within the Top 10 Investment Companies IPOs and Top 10

Investment Companies Secondary Issues – an impressive statistic for any service provider. HIFM is committed to adding value to each and every client and this is demonstrated by Mark’s leadership. Mark and the team perform an instrumental role in their clients’ complex deals and portfolio reviews while Mark is also often involved in inspecting assets and offering strategic assistance at the asset operating level.

Mark Huntley reveals his team’s performance and the company’s client partnership approach as the factors behind this success. He comments: “It is pleasing to receive this accolade from a highly regarded publication, such as Acquisition International, especially as it constitutes recognition from fellow industry peers. The award is a great reflection of the team’s hard work and excellent performance over the past year and signifies more exciting times ahead for HIFM. In a competitive market, we work hard at our ethos of client partnership and at making today’s complex structures work efficiently and cost effectively. We are independent and management owned and thus avoid the conflicts of interests that may affect the larger players. We price competitively but we focus on adding value and our core principle is that we work in partnership with our clients; we see this as key way to manage our risks and maintain our standards.”

Fact File

“It is pleasing to receive this accolade from a highly regarded publication, such as Acquisition International, especially as it constitutes recognition from fellow industry peers. The award is a great reflection of the team’s hard work and excellent performance over the past year and signifies more exciting times ahead for HIFM.” Company: Heritage International Fund Managers Limited Name: Mark Huntley Email: Mark.huntley@heritage.co.gg Web: www.heritage.co.gg Address: PO Box 225, Heritage Hall, Le Marchant Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 4HY Tel: +44 (0) 1481 716000

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2014 Business Excellence Awards | 37

Business Continuity Management Team of the Year - Malaysia

Hewlett Packard Multimedia Sdn Bhd Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn. Bhd is the Malaysian subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Company, the American multinational information technology corporation.

Operating as a subsidiary of Hewlett-Packard Company, Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn. Bhd. operates as a technology solutions provider and offers information technology infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services, and imaging solutions for consumers, enterprises and medium businesses.

The company was founded in 1978 and is based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

(such as HIPAA, PCI, SOC2, IL3 and FedRAMP); and advisory services – we offer advisory services to create, validate, audit and run continuity plans.

HP Continuity Services help enterprises and governments to identify and protect IT-enabled business processes through comprehensive Continuity Services that are unique in their global coverage, able to support complex environments, and have the flexibility relative to billing and contract terms. With Continuity Services clients get help to manage their business risk, protect their orders, revenue, market share, and brand image.

Our managed and cloud services include: data center continuity services (HP Helion Continuity, managed resiliency services, data center recovery services); data protection services; and workplace continuity services.

Our continuity services support: minimised business interruption and downtime – we limit the number of clients on the same hardware platform (i.e. subscription limit) and we limit number of clients per geographic zones (i.e. exclusion zones); a variety of delivery models – our continuity options are aligned to the business criticality of your workloads; we support traditional, cloud or hybrid IT environments and recovery/failover along a variety of recovery time/recovery point targets; different billing models – our continuity options provide as-a-service pricing with a 30% to 60% cost reduction over an equivalent in-house solution; billing model options are based on hourly, daily and monthly consumption; security features, audit compliance and risk management – we support compliance of industry regulations and security best practices

Fact File

Our portfolio of advisory services includes: advisory services in business continuity; transition and transformation; and service continuity management.

You have a continuity solution in place, but you still want to greatly improve recovery times, cut data loss, and be more agile. And given continuing cost pressures, you need somehow to do all of this for less.

HP Helion Continuity is the newest offering in our portfolio of continuity services. With this new recovery-as-a-service, you can achieve: Recovery Time Objective (RTO) in one to four hours and recovery point objective (RPO) typically 0 to 15 minutes; fast provisioning – we can usually have your environment running within two days following purchase; easy testing – typically two-day advance scheduling; pricing comparable to traditional tape-based recovery of two years ago; and pricing approximately 30% to 60% less than repurposed test/development environments today.

Get in touch and let us tell you about how you can start better protecting your business data and applications – and cut costs now.

“Hewlett-Packard (M) Sdn. Bhd. operates as a technology solutions provider and offers information technology infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services, and imaging solutions for consumers, enterprises and medium businesses.”

Company: Hewlett Packard Multimedia Sdn Bhd Web: www.hp.com Address: HP Towers, 12, Jalan Gelenggang, Bukit Damansara, Kuala Lumpur, 50490, Malaysia

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38 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Growth Strategy of the Year - Portugal

Inapa Packaging / Europackaging Inapa Packaging is a full-service provider of packaging solutions for industrial packaging materials, packaging services, packaging development and manufacturing.

How does it feel to have won the award for Growth Strategy of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

To win Acquisition International’s award for Growth Strategy is a fantastic recognition for our team, our customers and our suppliers as it confirms our decision to grow not for the sake of mere expansion but rather with a clear strategic plan in mind. We are convinced that the most important thing is our commitment to grow by the creation of long-term customer relations with a winwin effect for all parties involved, generating value for all stakeholders.

Tell us about Inapa Packaging’s overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients. What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service?

Our key philosophy pillars are: a state-of-the-art product portfolio with innovative solutions; a high level of competence, openness and reliability towards every customer; a clear and open communication of our goals; and a long-term relationship with customers and suppliers, based on partnership and trust rather than being driven by price.

Fact File

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Inapa Packaging and to your wider industry?

Inapa’s team has the obsession of the search of excellence.

Awards like this are a reflection of our daily efforts to perform as well as possible. We are proud of the fact that it has been so widely acknowledged. It is a motivation not only for the team of Inapa Packaging but also for our colleagues in other business sectors.

Tell us about the culture within Inapa Packaging and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

Our most important asset is our team members. We know the market, the needs and how to build the solutions. We have a multinational team, sharing the expertise and experiences and addressing the market not based on a geographical basis but from a competence perspective. We have therefore established an internal communication culture based on openness, trust and tolerance and the mutual will to succeed. We invest in training for our team to develop the potentials we find in our team members for their own benefit as consequently also for the success of Inapa Packaging.

“To win Acquisition International’s award for Growth Strategy is a fantastic recognition for our team, our customers and our suppliers as it confirms our decision to grow not for the sake of mere expansion but rather with a clear strategic plan in mind.”

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to have won the award for Growth Strategy of the Year?

Our focus is to find the best solution for the customer. We interact with the customer to try to understand their operation and needs.

Our team then focuses on finding the ideal solution for the customer’s needs, even if that means finding new partners in completely different geographies. Although this approach implies a big investment, we believe it is more rewarding for the customer and us because we generate value for all parties involved.

Warehouse operations in Tönisvorst, Germany

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Company: Inapa Packaging / Europackaging Name: José Morgado Email: geral@inapa.pt Web: www.inapa.pt Headquarters Address: Rua Braamcamp 40, 9ºD, 1250-050 Lisboa, Portugal Tel: +351 213 823 007 Fax: +351 213 823 016

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 39

Manufacturing Management Team of the Year - Australia

Pact Group Pact is a dynamic and robust manufacturer of packaging and other products with operations throughout Australia, New Zealand and Asia.

How does it feel to have been named Manufacturing Management Team of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

We are delighted to be named Manufacturing Management team of the Year. We believe that this has been achieved through our rigorous focus on results and the implementation of our company values: we walk in our customers shoes to serve them better; we are passionate about driving results; we pursue opportunities for transformational change; we act with speed and purpose; and we are committed to sustainability and providing an honest and respectful environment.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Pact Group and to your wider industry?

It is always great to be recognised as a leader in the field – and we never take recognition of any of our achievements for granted.

We are very grateful for the support offered by our diverse range of customers which has enabled us to grow our business What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Manufacturing Management Team of the Year?

One of our core values is to pursue opportunities for transformational change and we have done this through focusing on investing in the best equipment within our facilities, securing global licenses to underpin our technology offering, recruiting talented people and recognising their achievements through our internal Applause programme. We are also obsessive about delivering results.

What should clients be looking for when seeking to work with a manufacturing management team and how does Pact Group go about meeting these requirements?

Often customers come to us because they are seeking a reliable established partner who is able to meet their packaging needs. We are used to consistently manufacturing products to a high quality standard ensuring that our customers’ products are protected throughout the supply chain. Our global licence arrangements give our customers access to leading edge technology within our manufacturing region.

Fact File

Tell us about the culture within Pact Group and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

The culture at Pact has been based on entrepreneurial spirit where team members are encouraged and rewarded for having and implementing great ideas. This is administered through our Applause programme. We established the programme two years ago and have already received over 270 nominations and awarded over 100 prizes. Through this programme, we have been able to commercialise two new products as well as filing new patents.

Some of the ideas have extended to opportunities for automation and energy reduction as well as sound cost saving initiatives.

“We are delighted to be named Manufacturing Management team of the Year.

We believe that this has been achieved through our rigorous focus on results and the implementation of our company values: we walk in our customers shoes to serve them better; we are passionate about driving results; we pursue opportunities for transformational change; we act with speed and purpose; and we are committed to sustainability and providing an honest and respectful environment.”

What sets Pact Group apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

We adopt the view that we have our head in the clouds, but our feet on the ground. Our continued focus on detail and passion for driving results means that we continually review our performance and take the necessary action to deliver. We have a diverse product and customer base operating in most market sectors.

Company: Pact Group Name: Siobhan McCrory Email: Siobhan.McCrory@ inpact.com.au Web: www.pactgroup.com.au Address: Level 16/644 Chapel St, South Yarra, VIC, Australia 3141 Tel: +61 3 8825 4100 Fax: +61 3 9815 8388 A sunrise hot air balloon flight over the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia

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40 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Insurance Industry Solutions Firm of the Year - USA

iPipeline iPipeline leads its industry in providing the next generation suite of sales distribution software to the insurance and financial services markets through its on-demand service.

You’ll obviously be pleased to have won this award, but to what would you attribute this success?

We have great interest in learning how our market momentum is viewed by independent groups judging overall corporate performance based on a variety of business criteria, and it is an honour to be recognized as the Insurance Industry Solutions Firm of the Year, USA. To what extent do you see awards like this being important, not just for individual businesses, but for the wider industry?

I believe the awards serve as a validation for both the businesses participating in the competitions, as well as for our customers. To build a strong brand, companies like iPipeline need to participate in activities that delve into what makes them tick. Inevitably, those companies that elicit leadership, innovation, and market momentum rise to the surface in award competitions. This all builds the brand and ultimately interest from prospects in the marketplace to explore your solutions.

Winning an award like obviously speaks volume about your dedication and commitment. What areas would you say you focused on most that has led to this award? iPipeline’s vision is to dramatically improve how insurance is sold. We first became the aggregator and distributor for content (forms, underwriting guidelines, and product information) years ago and built the largest network in North America. This solved the major problem for the industry in that we were able to provide centralized access to multi-carrier products and ensure that the information was up-to-date.

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Every business does things differently and all achieve their success in different ways. What would you say is your approach, particularly when it comes to the way you work with your clients?

The customer is number one. This means we exist to ensure that our customers – carriers, distributors, agents and advisors – are fully enabled, 24/7, to market, sell and process a huge number of financial products. Providing optimal product and service excellence means maintaining open and frequent dialogues with our customers and making a relentless commitment to forging strong, enduring partnerships. This is the essence of building a mutually valuable and lasting relationship.

What is life like for those within iPipeline? To what extent have you attempted to foster a particular culture and how does it contribute to your success? iPipeline’s culture is characterized by innovation, motivation, partnership, accountability, collaboration, and teamwork. The culture is developed through annual, interactive company meetings, social activities both inside and outside the office, and videoconference calls. Our goal is to pull together disparate geographies as best we can through the use of various communications tools and corporate functions.

What sets iPipeline apart from your competitors and peers and how does this differentiation give you the advantage?

We recently completed a brand insight study through an independent organization. What we learned is that our customers highly value iPipeline’s partnership, efforts to set industry standards, our one-stop platform that provides everything needed to market, sell and process insurance, and our network. Our 2013 acquisition of Aplifi enabled iPipeline to now offer the industry’s most comprehensive platform for life insurance, annuity, and healthcare products.

Fact File

“I believe the awards serve as a validation for both the businesses participating in the competitions, as well as for our customers. To build a strong brand, companies like iPipeline need to participate in activities that delve into what makes them tick.”

Company: iPipeline Name: Michael Persiano, CMO Email: mpersiano@ipipeline.com Web: www.ipipeline.com Address: 222 Valley Creek Blvd, Suite 300, Exton, PA 19341 Tel: (484) 348 6555 Fax: (484) 348 6559

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 41

US Direct Marketing Firm of the Year - Pharmaceuticals

J. Knipper and Company, Inc. For over a quarter of a century, J. Knipper and Company, Inc. has been engineering and executing highly effective solutions for the life science industry that ultimately help people and improve lives.

How does it feel to have been named US Direct Marketing Firm of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

J. Knipper and Company, Inc. is honored and appreciative to be recognized as a lead US direct marketing firm. Knipper’s most valuable resource is our people. A tireless force of various skill sets and expertise, our employees are what differentiate us most from our competition. Committed, driven, intelligent people that can listen effectively, ask the right questions, build the right teams, and develop the best tools and processes to deliver success every time. It’s our people that take pride in workmanship and make personal sacrifices to achieve success for themselves, the company and our customers.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like J. Knipper and Company, Inc. and to your wider industry?

This award confirms our commitment to our customers and Knipper’s core responsibility to get our customers products, literature and messages into the hands of those who need them while ensuring the highest level of regulatory compliance is maintained.

Tell us about J. Knipper and Company, Inc.’s overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients.

Our company was built on establishing a personal relationship with our customers and their key stakeholders. We care about our customer’s success. We invest ourselves in it and make it our own.

We pride ourselves on our extraordinary level of commitment. We recognize the serious responsibilities that we have to our customers, healthcare providers, and patients. We hold ourselves accountable first to each other, and then to those we serve. These values build trust with our customers, many of whom we have served for over a decade or more.

grounded in mature, robust systems and the highest regulatory rigour.

Fact File

Through collaborative partnerships, our customers can leverage a diverse library of industry best practices and sample management standards, as well as our leading fulfilment and compliance solutions to transform their end-to-end samples management experience.

Knipper’s compliance data services provide the trust and security you need in marketing and sampling eligibility.

Building on its track record of operational excellence in sampling and direct marketing, Knipper also continues to develop industry leading technology and mobile solutions that address the needs and challenges of sales force support, white space promotion and sample compliance.

“J. Knipper and Company, Inc. is honored and appreciative to be recognized as a lead US direct marketing firm.”

Company: J. Knipper and Company, Inc. Name: Steve Gransden Email: Steve.Gransden@knipper.com Web: www.knipper.com Address: One Healthcare Way Lakewood, NJ 08701

Tell us about the culture within J. Knipper and Company, Inc. and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

Internally, Knipper strives to promote a true family atmosphere, based on principles adopted by its co-founder Jim Knipper, called C.H.A.R.T. (Caring, Honesty, Accountability, Respect, and Trust).

Having started as a family-owned business, and having that same family privately own the company today, leadership is expected to foster that philosophy and practice those principles throughout everything they do.

What sets J. Knipper and Company, Inc. apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

Knipper is the largest supplier of end-to-end samples management services to pharma in the US today. With over 25 years’ experience in direct marketing and drug sampling, our solutions are

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42 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

R&D Tax Credits Advisory Firm of the Year - UK

Jumpstart Jumpstart is a science and technology company that specialises in helping UK businesses profit from R&D tax relief, providing a unique blend of technological and business expertise to guide companies through the complexities of submitting claims to HMRC. Acquisition International caught up with managing director Brian Williamson to ask him about the secrets of the company’s success.

How does it feel to have been named R&D Tax Credits Advisory Firm of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

This award is testament to the hard work and commitment that everyone at Jumpstart has demonstrated in the delivery of excellent customer service that consistently exceeds client expectations.

A classic example of disruptive innovation, Jumpstart has developed a model that supersedes and outperforms existing methods in the marketplace, delivering sector-beating competitive advantage.

Crucially, Jumpstart uses people who actually understand the science of what they do.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Jumpstart and to your wider industry?

Awards recognise success, both collectively as a company and individually.

As for the wider industry, it shows that putting clients first really does make a difference.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named R&D Tax Credits Advisory Firm of the Year?

Jumpstart entered this marketplace at the start of one of the worst recessions the UK has seen. Five years later, it has over 500 clients.

Jumpstart has pioneered a business model that not only allows individual companies to secure crucial tax benefits, but also provides a vital service to UK plc.

Tell us about Jumpstart overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients.

What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service?

Customers are at the heart of everything we do. Our customer service strategy is to: create “clear water” between Jumpstart and our competitors by differentiating through outstanding service; engage and retain clients through the delivery of excellent service that consistently exceeds client requirements; increase word of mouth referrals and bolster marketplace reputation for technical and service excellence; and create a culture where staff can excel in customer service evidenced by greater job satisfaction, opportunities for role enrichment and rewards for those who engender our service values.

What should clients be looking for when seeking an advisory firm and how does Jumpstart go about meeting these requirements?

Unlike some of our competitors, who provide a broad range of services, Jumpstart specialises in R&D tax relief. Significant investments in our technological systems and training afford us economies of scale that mean we can offer clients highly competitive rates while maintaining our gold standard of product delivery. With Jumpstart, there are no hidden costs – our work, R&D inquiry defence service, travelling, subsistence and incidental expenses are all covered by a single contingent fee.

Tell us about the culture within Jumpstart and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

Jumpstart has a core set of internal values, constantly reinforced by our Execu-

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tive team, which ultimately translate into excellent customer service. These are: Competence – We aim to constantly improve our learning for the benefit of our clients, ensuring we’re brilliant in every aspect of our delivery.

Efficiency – We won’t waste time or money. We understand that we’ve been commissioned to find a solution not charge for a discussion, and aren’t motivated by time but the value we offer to the client.

Enthusiasm – We’re passionate about out role in supporting industry and jobs – we really can make a difference. We let our clients know that we’re genuinely interested in what they do.

Pride – We’re committed to excellence and proud to be seen as vanguards for British industry.

Accountability – We take personal responsibility for addressing any issues and challenges our clients encounter – no ‘passing the buck’!

Friendly – Life’s too short to be miserable. We’ll strive to make our clients’ journey with us an enjoyable and happy one.

What sets Jumpstart apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

We are scientists. Every member of our technical delivery team has an honours or postgraduate degree in an area of science or engineering. We don’t use accountants to talk about science with our clients; we use mechanical and civil engineers, computer scientists, software and electronic engineers, mathematicians, chemists, biologists and physicists.

We are up to date with changes in legislation. Each of our technical analysts is intensively trained in all matters relating to R&D tax relief in the Jumpstart Academy – an online training and assessment management system that ensures we consistently apply the highest level of knowledge to our clients.

We have experience: With over 1,100 claims in progress at any time, we have an unprecedented ability to create comparative benchmarks within industry sectors. This breadth, depth and currency of experience directly translates into more comprehensive, accurate and defensible claims.

What have been the most prevalent trends in your industry over the past 12 months?

Firstly, as our market matures, customers are becoming more discerning and making more educated decisions about which type of provider to use to assist with their R&D tax relief claims. Secondly, the proliferation of competitors has helped us to make numerous improvements to stay ahead of the field.

Thirdly, we’ve observed that HMRC is continuing to tighten its view on what constitutes Research & Development, driving more customers towards premium providers like Jumpstart.

What developments or changes do you see having the biggest impact on your business and industry over the coming year and where do you think the biggest opportunities – and challenges – will lie?

The change most likely to affect our business positively is the country’s continued emergence from recession. As customers become more optimistic about future earnings, they’re likely to invest more in R&D. On the flip side, it will become harder for us to find and hire the very best scientific minds.

The biggest opportunities will come from clients who have become disaffected with the services of non-premium suppliers. Our biggest challenge will continue to be differentiating ourselves in an increasingly busy market.

Fact File

“This award is testament to the hard work and commitment that everyone at Jumpstart has demonstrated in the delivery of excellent customer service that consistently exceeds client expectations.”

Company: Jumpstart Name: Brian Williamson Email: brian@jumpstartuk.co.uk Web: www.jumpstartuk.co.uk Address: 6 Atholl Crescent Edinburgh, EH3 8HA Tel: +44 (0) 131 240 2900 Fax: +44 (0) 131 226 4506

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 43

Private Equity Advisers of the Year - India

Motilal Oswal Private Equity Motilal Oswal Private Equity (“MOPE”), an India focussed fund manager, manages and/or advises two sector-agnostic mid-market focussed growth capital funds with Assets under Management of $275 million. In a short span of 8 years, MOPE has evolved into a robust private equity platform with two funds, marquee institutional investors, stable team, high growth portfolio and multiple exits.

MOPE was founded in 2006 with the vision of partnering with high potential mid-market companies and emerge as the most respected mid-market focused alternate asset manager in India. With this vision in mind MOPE, the first fund (Fund I; $115 mn) was raised in 2007 followed by the second fund (Fund II; $160 mn) in 2013.

Fund I has been fully deployed in 13 companies across multiple sectors. Fund II currently in deployment phase has made two investments committing ~11% of capital.

MOPE has been sponsored by Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited, a well-diversified financial services firm, recognised for insightful research on Indian companies, economic themes and macroeconomic analysis. Brand equity of the sponsor helps in enhancing creditability among all stakeholders and is pivotal in all aspects of the private equity business.

MOPE is managed by a highly empowered, motivated and independent investment team with 120+ years of collective and 50+ private equity experience. The team comes from varied corporate experiences / backgrounds, resulting in a wide network of relationships with corporate India, the private equity community and investment bankers, enabling access to proprietary and ‘preferred status’ deal flow. The team’s deep local insights and entrepreneurial approach gives them ability to empathize with promoter and manage Indian sensibilities. MOPE has also appointed industry experts to augment sectoral expertise, strengthen deal evaluation process and enable value-addition post investment.

MOPE has devised a well thought through investment strategy of targeting mid-market companies. Being the one of the largest constituent of the Indian GDP, mid-market companies offer compelling investment opportunities. The business models of such companies are well evolved and have potential to grow exponentially.

The investment strategy also prefers first generation entrepreneurs who exhibit passion for business and hunger for growth as well as market leaders (whether national, regional or product) who are better placed to withstand challenging times and usually garner favourable term of trade. All of the above is encompassed with valuation discipline to ensure adequate margin of safety to significantly mitigate risk of under-performance. Some of the preferred sector themes are listed below: Domestic consumption-led demand: Preferred themes - Consumer products, Food, Consumer durables, Retail chains and Education Domestic savings boom: Preferred themes - Banks, Finance Companies, Asset Managers and Financial Product Distributors Niche Manufacturing / Infra services: Preferred themes: Building materials, EPC players and Logistics Pharma: Preferred themes – Diagnostics, Formulations, Healthcare services, CRAMS and Medical equipment

Fact File “We are proud to receive this award from Acquisition International in recognition of our achievements during the past year.

We at MOPE are convinced on the India growth story and are committed towards providing growth capital to multiple mid-market companies to propel them to next stage of growth and deliver consistent returns to our investors”. - Vishal Tulsyan, Managing Director & CEO, Motilal Oswal Private Equity Company: Motilal Oswal Private Equity Name: Vishal Tulsyan Email: pe@motilaloswal.com Web: pe.motilaloswal.com Address: Motilal Oswal Tower, Junction of Gokhale Road & Sayani Road, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400 025, India.

Tel: +91 (0) 22 3980 4200

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44 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Financial Services Sector - Analytics & Advisory Firm of the Year - USA

Novantas Novantas is the leader in revenue management solutions for the financial industries. For fifteen years, we’ve advanced the science of investigating and interpreting customer needs, attitudes, and behaviors, helping financial institutions refine marketing decisions, pricing, product design, and sales activities to improve revenue realization and profitability.

In 2014, Novantas was named Analytics and Advisory Firm of the Year for the Financial Services Sector by Acquisition International. This Business Excellence Award recognizes us for advancing the science of customer analytics in critical business areas. Our Elasticity-Pricing Analytics are used by more banks for deposit and loan rate setting than all other competing products combined.

The Firm’s Distribution Network Optimization products are used by a dozen top banks for planning and managing customer touch points. Novantas analytical techniques are widely accepted as the gold standard in the industry, taught at the leading Graduate Schools of Banking where Novantas Executives have been on the faculty for a decade.

“We are proud to be named Firm of the Year in Financial Services, said Dave Kaytes, co-CEO for Novantas. “We are grateful for this recognition from our world-class clients, who work so closely with us as we mutually advance the analytical capabilities of the industry.”

Novantas clients include forty of the largest North American Banks, eight of the top ten card companies, sixty five major US Insurance companies, five of the largest global brokerage and investment banks, and twenty of the largest financial institutions in Australia, UK, Asia, Middle East and Latin America.

emin kuliyev / Shutterstock.com

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“These days, the financial industries move at lightning speed, and yesterday’s winning strategies are no longer effective, said Kaytes.

“Our clients seek to be the best in their business and only through analytically-driven experimentation, innovation, and improvement do they remain world class. We are fortunate that they recognize the contribution we can make to their market success, and as a result we have enjoyed decade-long relationships with most of our largest clients.”

Our credo is simple: We believe in client service first and foremost.

Clients expect to work with senior business leaders, not just newly hired staff, and we deliver on our promise with partners who do the work, rather than just sell it. We believe that clients seek pragmatic solutions, not just studies, so we continuously invest in integrated advisory and information solutions that become part of the client’s infrastructure, and provide enduring value beyond the engagement. And we believe that specialization is essential to delivering value. No firm at any size could be all things to all organizations, and it is gratifying to be recognized as the best in our business.

As a result, we have enjoyed continuous revenue and income growth of more than 20% per year for the past 15 years. Visit us at www.novantas.com to access a comprehensive library of white papers, articles and analytical insights on the industry.

Fact File

“We are proud to be named Firm of the Year in Financial Services, said Dave Kaytes, co-CEO for Novantas. “We are grateful for this recognition from our world-class clients, who work so closely with us as we mutually advance the analytical capabilities of the industry.”

Company: Novantas Name: Dave Kaytes Email: dkaytes@novantas.com Web: http://novantas.com/ Address: 485 Lexington Ave New York, NY, 10017, USA Tel: +1 212 953 4444 Fax: +1 212 972 4602

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 45

Dutch CEO of the Year

Fraser Innes - Paradigm Group B.V. Innes is CEO of Paradigm Group B.V, a privately owned investment fund with a focus on upstream oil and gas technology.

How does it feel to have been named Dutch CEO of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

It’s a very pleasant surprise to have received this award out of the blue. I have to say that I work as a team with Robert Voordendag our FD, and so I think the credit is at least partially his.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Paradigm Group and to your wider industry?

As a business which was only set up in late 2009 we can obviously monitor our progress from a fiscal perspective and do.

However, an award like this, in any sector, is reinforcement that you are on the right track and it’s nice for it to be recognised by third parties.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Dutch CEO of the Year?

There have been a number of key areas for us. The first is to find value as often our industry can overheat. You then need to find the right people to help deliver the planned growth and although that can be a challenge we have been very fortunate and have some exceptional people in our portfolio companies.

Tell us about Paradigm Group B.V’s overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients. What do you see as the most relevant and vital areas to focus on when it comes to providing the best possible service?

We have a range of clients in the global oil and gas industry and technically the client base is quite diverse. However the culture of responsive-

ness and service, which is so critical in our industry, needs to be embedded in the DNA of the company and that has been one of our tasks.

What should clients be looking for when seeking a business in your sector and how does Paradigm Group B.V. go about meeting these requirements?

We offer a range of unique products and services in key areas of upstream technology: drilling, well intervention, sub-sea and so on. Our aim is to deliver game-changing technologies Tell us about the culture within Paradigm Group B.V. and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

There is a culture of excellence married with a core of customer service which are the fundamentals for success in our view. This is borne out by our rapid growth in revenue and profitability. The building momentum of success across the Group also brings a positive dimension and clients, employees and potential employees are attracted by that.

What sets Paradigm Group B.V. apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

The main difference between PG and our peers is that we are actively involved in supporting the day to day activities of the portfolio companies we invest in. We bring our personal networks to bear, aid in defining the strategy and in some cases help in the delivery of the strategy. We work with our portfolio company management teams on a daily basis rather than just operating at Board level.

Fact File

“An award like this, in any sector, is reinforcement that you are on the right track and it’s nice for it to be recognised by third parties.”

Company: Paradigm Group B.V Name: Fraser Innes Email: fraser.innes@paradigm.eu Web: www.paradigm.eu Address: Ambachtsweg 7, 2964 LG Groot-Ammers, The Netherlands Tel: +31 184 609 419 Fax: +31 184 609 429

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46 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

BPO Partner of the Year - UK

Parseq Parseq is a UK-based business process outsourcer providing end to end services which cover front office, back office and IT. It operates in the space between multinational outsourcers and service line outsourcers, differentiating itself through the quality and longevity of relationships it builds with its clients, which include the top ten international banks, utility providers, insurance companies and leading charities.

It feels great for the Parseq team to have won the accolade of BPO Partner of the Year, it reflects our impressive client list and our ambition to grow the business to one with £100m turnover within three years.

But it also reflects our position within an innovative, competitive industry where differentiating yourself can only be achieved by independent scrutiny of your proposition and customer service through third parties like the Business Excellence Awards.

Over the last year we’ve focused on the key strengths that set us apart from the competition, communicating these to new and existing clients simply and visually. They form our philosophy and the way we work with our clients and are also what clients value most in their relationship with us.

Our seven key strengths enable us to challenge the BPO marketplace and are fundamental components of our service delivery.

They cover our agility and ability to react quickly to market and client changes; our vigilance and adherence to industry standards on behalf of our clients; our people who work tirelessly for our clients; our innovation, which helps clients achieve results they hadn’t even considered; our brand champions who turn customers into advocates; our technology, which produces the leanest processes in the industry; our ability to flexibly scale up and down to meet client needs and our ability to evolve with our clients to deliver service enhancements while reducing costs.

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But outsourcing isn’t just about cutting costs. It’s about balancing a number of things: expertise, access to skills, scalability, service delivery and flexibility along with value for money.

Over the last five years companies have increasingly recognised this and our focus has been to lead the market so we are ahead of the curve when it comes to innovation and efficiency. Those companies who started the recession as lean and agile organisations find our approach slots easily into their existing processes and it provides a road map for those who have decades of legacy processes, people and technology to manage.

The challenge for any outsourcer is to convince clients to embark on change, even though it may initially cost them more, so they can take the business to a place in three or five years’ time that it wouldn’t have been able to transition to alone – at Parseq we’re looking forward to helping more clients on that journey.

Parseq services include: • Contact centre services • Fundraising and campaign services • Document management • Finance and accounting outsourcing • Banking processing • IT outsourcing To learn more visit parseq.com

Fact File

“It feels great for the Parseq team to have won the accolade of BPO Partner of the Year, it reflects our impressive client list and our ambition to grow the business to one with £100m turnover within three years.”

Company: Parseq Name: Lian Chambers Email: Lian.Chambers@parseq.com Web: www.parseq.com Address: Lowton Way, Hellaby, Rotherham, S66 8RY Tel: +44 (0) 1709 448000 Fax: +44 (0) 1709 449000

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 47

Real Estate Investment Trust of the Year -UK

Redefine Redefine International PLC is an income focused diversified Real Estate Investment Trust (“Reit”) with investments in the commercial, retail and hotel sectors. Redefine offers shareholders a sustainable and growing dividend stream with the promise of capital appreciation over time.

Redefine International PLC, a major mid-cap real estate company is a FTSE 250 constituent with a market capitalisation of over £700m. Its £1bn investment portfolio is spread across the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Australia.

Shareholders need to consider the track record of a Reit management team and their philosophy towards risk before investing.

Redefine believe in a risk adjusted return and embraces a limited amount of risk to bolster returns.

It is a privilege to be named Reit of the Year and the success is down to a hard working management team that set out over 18 months ago to achieve a number of goals. Among these were to convert to a Reit, internalise the management function, restructure the ownership structure and significantly rebalance its balance sheet.

Redefine has a hands on, attention to detail culture and believes that if it looks after the underlying property portfolio and the tenants that pay rent, the performance of the Reit and the share price will look after itself.

These objectives have all been successfully met and the market has shown its approval by rerating the share considerably.

Awards like this are particularly important to “honour” those companies that perform and put shareholders’ interests at the heart of their business model. The Company as well as the wider industry appreciates recognition for a job well done.

As indicated above the Company set about making some fundamental changes to become a Reit and these challenges needed to be overcome before we could be named Reit of the year.

Redefine’s overriding philosophy is to deliver sustainable and growing income returns to our shareholders over an extended period of time.

Redefine is different from the average Reit in that it is diversified across numerous sectors and geographies. This allows the management team to recycle capital from sectors that underperform to higher growth sectors. In specialised Reits the only thing a management team can do if that sector is underperforming is recycle capital back to shareholders, which is seldom done.

The most prevalent trend over the last 18 - 36 months has been a cyclical downturn followed by a strong uptick in property markets across the UK and Europe. This is expected to continue until the interest rate cycle turns upward again.

The biggest threat is however considered to be the development of another property bubble. Redefine will look to invest in a countercyclical manner by selling property while waiting for the market to turn following the inevitable interest rate rise.

Fact File

“It is a privilege to be named Reit of the Year and the success is down to a hard working management team that set out over 18 months ago to achieve a number of goals.”

Company: Redefine International PLC Name: Mike Watters Email: MWatters@ redefineinternational.com Web: www.redefineinternational.com Address: 2nd Floor, 30 Charles II Street, London, SW1Y 4AE Tel: +44 (0) 2078 110 100 Fax: +44 (0) 2078 110 101

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48 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Health Risk Management Consultancy of the Year - UK

Santia Consulting Ltd Santia Consulting Ltd is one of the UK’s leading providers of integrated health, safety, environmental and food risk management consultancies, with offices in the UK, Dubai and Turkey.

How does it feel to have been named Health Risk Management Consultancy of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

We’re extremely delighted to hear that Santia had been named Health Risk Management Consultancy of the Year. We always strive to be the best that we can be and that is only made possible by the passion, innovation and expertise of everyone who works for Santia.

How important do you believe awards like this to be, both to individual businesses like Santia Consulting Ltd and to your wider industry?

It’s important for businesses to be recognised for their achievements as it’s a proof point that they are demonstrating real excellence, especially when they are nominated by third parties rather than submitting an application. Awards such as these are a great boost for business profile, providing excellent exposure to senior decision makers of potential customers and sending a strong and positive message into the market.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Health Risk Management Consultancy of the Year?

We have transformed our business over the last three years with considerable investment in our people, our processes and systems in order to ensure we deliver best in class solutions and sustainable growth. We are delighted that this achievement recognises the hard work and effort that has got us to where we are today.

Tell us about Santia Consulting Ltd’s overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients.

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Our vision is to be the partner of choice when it comes to health and safety risk management and that can only happen if we get the customer experience right. In our business it really is all about trust. For us, true business excellence is about continuous improvement and delivering solutions that improve the performance of our customers’ businesses.

What should clients be looking for when seeking a health risk management specialist and how does Santia Consulting Ltd go about meeting these requirements?

Customers should be able to trust the technical competence in these very high risk matters as well as ensuring they are working with people who understand their sectors and the challenges they face. They need to work with a partner that delivers right first time, every time wherever they are in the world.

Tell us about the culture within Santia Consulting Ltd and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

Santia Consulting Ltd has three core values – reliability, innovation and trust – which drive our interactions with our customers and with each other. These values have underpinned our business transformation ensuring our own people are all motivated to deliver outstanding customer experiences.

All the company’s employees are involved in charity work – each year we set ourselves an increasing fundraising target and our charity committee are constantly looking for interesting and innovative ways of raising money.

Fact File

“We’re extremely delighted to hear that Santia had been named Health Risk Management Consultancy of the Year. We always strive to be the best that we can be and that is only made possible by the passion, innovation and expertise of everyone who works for Santia.”

Company: Santia Consulting Ltd Name: Tonia Smreczak Email: tonia.smreczak@santia.co.uk Web: www.santia.co.uk Address: Santia House, Parc Nantgarw, Cardiff, CF15 7QX Tel: +44 (0) 845 5040 402 Fax: +44 (0) 29 20 867 738

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 49

Assurance Manager of the Year - Brazil

Souza Cruz/British American Tobacco Souza Cruz is a subsidiary of British American Tobacco (BAT), the British multinational tobacco company headquartered in London.

How does it feel to have been named Assurance Manager of the Year and to what do you most owe this success?

I’m happy to receive this important professional recognition. It makes me proud of the team I’m part of at BAT. How important do you believe awards like this to be?

Awards like this are very important because they show us that our contribution is not purely limited to our own responsibilities in our jobs, but also to the industry as a whole.

What areas have you focused on and what challenges have you overcome to be named Assurance Manager of the Year?

The areas I cover are IT security and project risk assessment.

The challenges are twofold. The first one is related to the global implementation of an effective security governance capability to manage risks within the organisation, including the identification, tracking and remediation of activities resulting in the implementation of a holistic information security management system. The second challenge has been to develop a project risk assessment approach that defined the risk rating of projects that required IT security involvement, the governance activities for the project to follow and the process and tools to be utilised during the project lifecycle.

Tell us about Souza Cruz/British American Tobacco’s overriding philosophy when it comes to your clients.

We offer adult consumers a range of products to choose from, including traditional cigarettes and cigars, as well as next-generation e-cigarettes. The most relevant and vital area is innovation – a driving force across our business. It influences every aspect of our supply chain – from new and better ways to grow tobacco, right through to creating new product categories.

Fact File

Tell us about the culture within Souza Cruz/British American Tobacco and the things you do to maintain and develop it. How does it influence your interactions with and results achieved for your clients?

Our focus is on driving high performance; developing the next generation of leaders; valuing the diversity of our employees; encouraging and rewarding entrepreneurial behaviour; and creating an engaging culture where individuals and teams can be successful.

What sets Souza Cruz/British American Tobacco apart from your competitors and peers and how do you use this differentiation to your advantage?

Given the serious negative health impacts of tobacco products, we support balanced regulation and we expect high standards of corporate conduct among those who produce, distribute, market and sell them. To achieve this, we focus on three key areas: engaging with stakeholders on industry regulation; responsible marketing and preventing underage access; and fighting the black market in tobacco.

“I’m happy to receive this important professional recognition.

It makes me proud of the team I’m part of at BAT.” Company: Souza Cruz/ British American Tobacco Name: Daniel Delgado Email: daniel_delgado@bat.com Web: www.bat.com Address: Globe House, 4 Temple Place, London, WC2R 2PG Tel: +44 (0) 20 7845 1000

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50 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Logistics Company of the Year - South Africa

Super Group Limited Super Group is a mobility business that offers end-to-end Supply Chain Solutions, Fleet Management, Distributor and Dealership services.

The Group operates in South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Our diversified customer base includes multinationals, large and medium companies, parastatal organisations, government departments and consumers.

I am delighted and gratified that Super Group has been named Logistics Company of the Year. The award is recognition of the talented, dedicated and hardworking management and employees of the Group. Without their individual and collective contributions, the Group would not have recovered from its problems of five years ago and progressed into the successful organisation it is today.

Awards are important to both the Industry in which we operate as well as Super Group itself as they represent recognition of excellence and achievement by people outside the Industry. We do not set out to win awards, but see them as affirmation of our success in serving our customers and other stakeholders.

The Group focusses on superior customer service, stringent cost control and development of its people. The combination of these factors have enabled the Group to be successful in the current challenging economic environment in providing cost effective and value adding services to our customers. One of the biggest challenges we face is that we operate in very competitive industries and regions. The challenge remains to keep evolving the business to remain market leading and competitive without eroding value to our customers and other stakeholders.

The Group’s overriding philosophy to customers is service. We place a lot emphasis on the service ethic and in particular the quality of that service. This applies to all members of staff and not only those in customer facing roles. An example of this was that despite the disruption of the three week strike in the Logistics Industry in September 2013 we managed to fulfil all our obligations to our customers.

When a customer is selecting a logistics company they should consider factors reputation, reliability, a well maintained and roadworthy fleet, the use of technology and the empowerment of its employees. Super Group through its business unit, Vsc Technologies is able to offer its customers industry leading technology for warehousing and despatch, routing, real time monitoring of deliveries and monitoring of trucks. The Group places a lot of emphasis on having a well maintained fleet that is refreshed on a consistent cycle and complies with the relevant laws and regulations. In addition the Group empowers its business units to effectively service their customers within a framework of good Corporate Governance.

The Super Group culture can be described as empowering people to do their jobs, teamwork, caring for fellow employees and development of the individual. I place a lot of emphasis on pro-active management to maintain the culture as well as to adjust it to changing circumstances and societal changes. We are extremely

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proud of our B-BBEE staff empowerment scheme that we put in place in 2012. This scheme has paid two dividends to eligible employees as well as made payments to all “good leavers’ since its inception.

The culture of Super Group and our use of industry leading technology sets us apart from our competitors and peers. We continually develop our technology offerings and utilise the developments to improve our service to our customers. We utilise our in-house technology team in Vsc to continually refine our offerings which include the ability to tweak these to meet customer specific requirements. Our culture ensures that our employees continually strive to meet and exceed required service levels.

The Logistics Industry, which is fragmented, has been and will continue to undergo consolidation in the previous twelve months.

We expect the current level of merger and acquisition will continue and in terms of our strategy we will continue to make the appropriate acquisitions. A trend that is of concern is the poor enforcement of the road and transport regulations by the traffic authorities. This results in overloading and the use of un-roadworthy vehicles with the consequent deterioration of roads and the impact to safety of all users of the roads. Various classes of goods transported by road should be on Rail and we remain concerned by the inability of the Transnet to provide sufficient capacity for this.

In the current depressed economic and competitive environment the Industry and Super Group are under significant margin pressure from the customers. The opportunity and challenge for Super Group is to continue to provide excellent service at acceptable costs to the customers that result in acceptable margins to the Group. Our use of technology is a key feature that enables the Group to continually develop cost effective solutions for our customers. At the same time input costs, in particular fuel, remain under pressure and the Group is continually looking at how to mitigate the increases in costs.

In the Fleet Management business one of the biggest challenges is the time it takes for Parastatal and Government Departments to adjudicate and award tenders.

A further challenge will be the slowdown in the growth of the motor vehicle market. We are confident that with our service culture we will be able to continue to perform ahead of the overall market.

I would like to thank the panel of judges on behalf of the Management and Employees of Super Group for this award. We are very appreciative of this recognition of our achievements.

Fact File

“I am delighted and gratified that Super Group has been named Logistics Company of the Year. The award is recognition of the talented, dedicated and hardworking management and employees of the Group. Without their individual and collective contributions, the Group would not have recovered from its problems of five years ago and progressed into the successful organisation it is today.”

Company: Super Group Limited Name: Peter Mountford Email: peter.mountford@supergrp.com Web: www.supergrp.com Address: 27 Impala Road, Chislehurston, Sandton Tel: +27 11 523 4000 Fax: +27 11 523 4860

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 51

Investment and Advisory Company of the Year - Austria

Vienna Capital Partners Vienna Capital Partners (VCP) is a leading independent corporate finance advisor and private equity investor with a focus on Central and Eastern Europe.

We offer a broad range of investment banking services such as corporate finance advisory and direct investments. Through our corporate finance advisory services we support our clients in all their essential strategic and financial decisions including both M&A and capital raising processes. Through our own private equity investments we capitalise on our advisory expertise gained in numerous corporate finance transactions.

Vienna Capital Partners advises firms in all industries with a special focus on medium-to-large-sized enterprises and companies with a high potential for growth and value appreciation. We serve a diverse range of clients including management teams, entrepreneurs, institutional investors and governments.

With offices located in Vienna, Warsaw and Prague, we possess the critical local presence, knowledge and cross-cultural understanding required to execute transactions in a goal-oriented, time efficient and thorough manner. VCP’s European focus is reinforced by a comprehensive network of cooperation partners, with particular footprint in the Hungarian, Russian, Balkan and Baltic markets.

What we do…

We are committed to our clients for the long-run and believe in building strong relationships with them, ensuring a clear understanding of their strategy and a genuine interest in their businesses. The most valued strengths of VCP are its independence, its regional focus and expertise, as well as its know-how and experience in complex transactions.

Vienna Capital Partners is held exclusively and directly by its partners. As a leading financial advisor and investor independent from large financial institutions or other external shareholders, we are therefore able to provide objective advice, free from any conflicts of interest that can arise in today’s multi-product, integrated environment.

VCP, through its professionals, has a wealth of experience in what is now commonly known as Converging Europe. Converging Europe comprises the new EU-member states, potential future EU-accession candidates as well as other EU countries, such as Austria and Germany, that are directly impacted by the ongoing convergence process. VCP’s partners and professionals were among the first to anticipate and recognise the dynamic development of the region and the resulting business opportunities. Through this early-mover advantage, we are well-established and exceptionally strong-positioned to help our clients with their strategic goals.

Vienna Capital Partners provides its clients with original, well-considered ideas and innovative solutions for their business strategies

and to solve complex problems. We stress creativity and imagination and, while recognizing that the old way may still be the best way, we constantly strive to find a better solution to a client’s problems. This philosophy is embedded in VCP’s emphasis on competing through intellectual rather than financial capital.

Our advisory approach is strongly client-oriented. In close consultation, we define the overall conditions surrounding a transaction to ensure right from the start that our solutions exactly meet the client’s expectations. The senior involvement of VCP’s partners ensures that our clients benefit from their experience and expertise at all stages during a transaction.

VCP’s own investment activities combine the experience and network of its partners with the capabilities of our dedicated professional team to scrutinise and identify investment opportunities. We follow a flexible and opportunistic investment approach and take proprietary equity positions in undervalued companies that promise a significant increase in value through balance sheet restructurings and growth initiatives. Through our advisory and investing activities, VCP has gained in-depth knowledge and experience, which leads to more educated investment decisions going forward.

How we move on…

In the aftermath of the global financial crisis, the economies in VCP’s regional focus area have been adversely affected by recession and deleveraging, resulting in reduced M&A, financing and investment activities. The core Central European countries like Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and to a lesser extent Hungary have proved to be more resilient to the crisis, whereas the South Eastern European countries and the Balkan were hit hard, as evidenced by collapsing real estate markets, declining private consumption and record levels of non-performing loans.

Post crisis we are observing a shift in the buyers’ universe in M&A transactions whereby Western buyers have retreated from some countries completely but remained committed to others, most importantly Poland and the Czech Republic. On the other hand, we are experiencing increased interest by investors from the Far East and Arabic countries. Looking forward, we believe that most economies in the Central-Eastern and South-Eastern European region have bottomed out and are enjoying renewed growth prospects, with some obstacles still to overcome. In particular, the geopolitical risk arising from the uncertain situation in Ukraine and the future role of Russia poses a threat to the recovery of the region. With the improved macro outlook not yet being fully reflected in valuations and the buyers’ mood still being cautious, we expect fast-acting, brave and opportunistic investors to have the floor for attractive transactions in the coming twelve to twenty-four months.

Fact File

“With our dedicated focus on the CEE and SEE countries, we are a preferred advisor and partner to our clients for M&A and investment projects in the region. We appreciate the nomination as Investment and Advisory Company of the Year as proof of this commitment and our success. The partners and the entire team of Vienna Capital Partners are proud to receive this award and understand the nomination as encouragement for continued outstanding work.”

Company: Vienna Capital Partners Email: office@vcpag.com Web: www.vcpag.com Address: Tegetthoffstraße 7 1010 Wien, Austria Tel: +43 1 514 17

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52 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Money Transfer Specialist of the Year - UK

WorldRemit WorldRemit is a global online money transfer business. Migrants and expats from 35 countries can make online payments to families and friends in over 100 destinations. WorldRemit offers a wide range of options to send and receive payments. Senders can make payments online, through smartphones or tablets, by debit or credit card, or via bank transfer. Recipients can get paid via bank deposit, direct transfers to mobile wallets, cash pickup or delivery, or airtime top-up for their mobile phones.

Remittances play a critical role in the global economy, contributing enormously to economic growth in developing countries and providing a lifeline to some of the poorest people in the world. With 232 million people living outside their countries of origin, migration, economic or otherwise, is now a fact of life. Until now, the majority of migrants and expats have been ill-served by the traditional money transfer networks.

The traditional money transfer business model, which involves the use of physical agent locations to send money, is antiquated and rife with problems. As former compliance advisor to the United Nations Remittance Programme, Ismail Ahmed knew these issues all too well, something that drove him to create WorldRemit, an online-only money transfer service. He explains “WorldRemit is out to challenge the high costs, inconvenience and lack of transparency associated with legacy money transfer businesses. We’re building a platform to let you send money anytime, anywhere, as quickly as possible.”

Mr Ahmed believes that the remittance industry can play an instrumental role in promoting financial inclusion. Billions of the world’s population in developing countries do not have access to formal banking. This means they are excluded from the traditional banking services vital for combatting poverty.

However, a large proportion of the unbanked population do have access to mobile phones. Mr Ahmed believes that the key to financial inclusion and expansion of the reach of financial services in the remotest parts of the world is to harness the power of mobile wallets. He comments “Through mobile, people in developing economies can enjoy the fast and low cost transfer of funds. That’s why we’ve put mobile at the heart of our platform. We send more transactions to mobiles than any other provider.”

Speaking of winning the award, Mr Ahmed said “We are pleased to get recognition for the work we are doing to bring quick, low cost and secure remittance payments to the communities who need them most. We offer an unmatched range of pay-out options to recipients.

“We expect to see the online money transfer sector grow to 30% of the market over the next few years and WorldRemit will be at the forefront of that change”.

The financial services industry has seen several traditional business models disrupted by new technology in recent years. It is now the turn of the remittance industry to undergo modernisation.

WorldRemit is paving the way for a redefined remittance sector, hauling it into the 21st Century. By bringing this service online and

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to mobile, WorldRemit is introducing convenient, fast, transparent and affordable payments to the people who need them most.

WorldRemit customer referrals: David Parker: “I have been sending money to the Director of the School where I sponsor 4 children in Kenya using the WorldRemit service over the past few months. She does not have direct access to a bank account so I organised for the money to be sent using the M-Pesa service, straight to her mobile phone. This makes it convenient for both myself and the director as it is simple for me and all she needs to do is go to the shop to recover the funds. In addition, the service is secure and over the 12 months I have been using the service, the funds are available in Kenya on average 10 minutes after sending them. I have no hesitation using WorldRemit or recommending this service to anyone who needs to transfer money fast and securely to any international destination” Paul Brunne: “WorldRemit puts its customers first. I have been using the service for a few months now, and always receive an excellent service no matter where the payment is being delivered from or to. The staff are of a high calibre and have always been professional and courteous when I have had a query. In addition, I have been able to make varied payments to my family without any problem, allowing my wages to look after myself, my family and our finances. Other companies could learn from WorldRemit.”

Fact File

“We are pleased to get recognition for the work we are doing to bring quick, low cost and secure remittance payments to the communities who need them most. We offer an unmatched range of pay-out options to recipients.”

Company: WorldRemit Name: Catherine Wines Email: cwines@worldremit.com Web: www.worldremit.com Address: WorldRemit Ltd Kensington Centre, 66 Hammersmith Rd, London, W14 8UD Tel: +44 (0)207 148 5800 +44 (0)203 519 8580 Fax: +44 (0)207 148 6119

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 53

Excellence in Mobile Communications Innovation - Russia

Yota Devices Yota Devices is the Russia-based startup company that shook the tech world in 2013 with the introduction of YotaPhone, the first dual-screen, always-on smartphone.

YotaPhone combines a brilliant colour display and a battery-saving electronic paper display (EPD), which is always on. Important information is streamed automatically to the always-on display, without having to pick up and activate the phone.

“YotaPhone is the first game-changer in smartphones since the iPhone,” said Yota Devices CEO Vlad Martynov. “Since 2007, smartphone manufacturers have been in a spec race for bigger screens, faster processors and better cameras. But there’s been no new innovation on how consumers use their smartphone for communication and data.”

The idea of YotaPhone came up at a Yota Devices’ brainstorming session three years ago. Yota Devices, which produces fast and reliable mobile routers, wanted to leverage its experience in LTE to improve other mobile communications devices. Vlad and his team zeroed in on smartphones and realised that there was one fundamental thing wrong. Most of the time, their smartphone is sleeping to conserve battery life. Behind this black screen is an enormous amount of information. To get access to it, you have to pick up the phone, activate it and scroll through various applications.

“We created YotaPhone as an antidote to the always-dark smartphone,” said Martynov. “And in the process we created a device that fundamentally rebalances our relationship with smartphones.”

In December 2012 Yota Devices unveiled a working prototype.

It was immediately named the best mobile device at the world’s largest consumer electronics show. YotaPhone also received the coveted Cannes Lions Award for Innovation and was named Best of Mobile World Congress 2014 by more than 20 international tech and business media outlets.

As a small startup company, Yota Devices faced a number of business, engineering and other challenges in producing this totally new concept in smartphones. Yota Devices’ team grew from 20 working in Moscow at the beginning of 2013 to nearly 100 now in Russia, Finland, Germany, Singapore, China and the US. The company created alliance partners and a supply chain ecosystem as well as develop software to take advantage of the benefits of the second screen. They had to be innovative in hardware design and manufacturing. For example, they had to place the phone’s six antennas around the perimeter to make room for the second display.

Fact File

“YotaPhone is the first game-changer in smartphones since the iPhone,” Company: Yota Devices Name: Vlad Martynov Email: media@yotadevices.com Web: www.yotadevices.com/ Address: Moscow Tel: +7 495 926 75 85

“Virtually every one of our major hardware suppliers had to adapt their technology to make it work for our dual-screen, always-on phone. We are incredibly thankful that these far-sighted companies understood the revolutionary nature of YotaPhone and joined us as partners,” said Martynov.

YotaPhone went on sale in December 2013 and is now available in key markets in Europe, the Middle East and CIS. The next generation YotaPhone, which is even more intuitive and interactive, will go on sale in EMEA later this year and in the US and Asia in 2015.

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54 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Private Equity Fund Administrator of the Year - Singapore

Fact File

Augentius Augentius has been administering Private Equity and Real Estate funds for over 11 years. Originating in Europe, the Group has expanded into the US and more recently into Asia through our Singapore office, first operating in the region in 2008 and opening an operational office in 2011. We have already had to move offices once, and given the success and new business we have won in recent months, another office move won’t be many months away.

It’s a real accolade to win this award and something we are very proud of.

Unlike many others, Augentius is a truly global player, with 6 operational offices across three continents. This is increasingly important to managers. Investors are sought on a global basis and fund structures themselves increasingly use more than one domicile or location to service not only the fund, but also the portfolio. As managers and their fund structures become more global, they need to work with global providers. Not doing so creates inefficiency, requires the management of multiple relationships, gives rise to errors and oversights, and more to the point is more expensive.

for over 125 fund management groups who themselves are spread across 35 different countries, Augentius is truly international. The 6800+ investors serviced on behalf of our clients are even more geographically diverse!

But it’s not only geographic diversity that counts, having an administrator who knows what is going on around the globe is critical.

An administrator that can help to deal with some of the regulatory issues that are surfacing is a real bonus. The AIFMD is European legislation, but already we are helping some of our clients to overcome the issues and provide them with Depositary services. Other clients are being helped with FATCA and the issues and processes surrounding this complex US legislation.

The Private Equity and Real Estate world is only getting more complex. It is important that funds work with service providers who can really make a difference for them. Everyone can provide the “norm” – it is those that go the extra mile that will provide the real benefits to their clients. This award proves that Augentius is in that category – and we are delighted to be there.

Funds domiciled in Singapore or Cayman, using Mauritius and India for parts of their structures are not uncommon. Sometimes Luxembourg and other locations are also included. To have to deal with 5 or 6 administrators in one structure is a nightmare, and very costly. But Augentius has seen it all before. Currently acting

IT Firm of the Year - Czech Republic

“For our Singapore office to be named as Private Equity Administrator of the Year is a massive success.

It’s something we are immensely proud of.”

Company: Augentius Name: Alexander Traub Email: alexander.traub@ augentius.com Web: http://augentius.com Address: 04-02 112 Robinson Road, Singapore, 068902 Tel: +65 6420 6990 Fax: +65 6420 6999

Fact File

AVAST AVAST’s most famous product, avast! antivirus, last year protected over 200 million PCs, Macs and Android devices worldwide.

AVAST’s roots go back to 1988, when Czech researchers Eduard Kučera and Pavel Baudiš encountered the Vienna Virus and began their quest to save the world’s computers from it and others like it. avast! is an antivirus computer program available to Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux users, with a user interface available in 41 languages.

The company was officially established under the newly free market of then-Czechoslovakia. AVAST Software is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic, where it employs over 380 professionals. The company also has offices in Friedrichshafen and Munich, Germany; Austin, Texas, and Redwood City, California; and Hong Kong and Beijing, China as well as distribution partners in all markets and a global community of avast! enthusiasts.

AVAST Software currently produces a range of security freeware and shareware programs for both personal and commercial use on PCs, Macs, and Android devices; as of 2013, more than 200 million devices worldwide used avast!.

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AVAST’s products work by utilising the 200 million protected devices to act as sensors, finding and reporting threats from anywhere in the world. The threats are then automatically analysed in the cloud, and SMS-sized updates are issued approximately every 6 minutes; the protected devices are thus kept up-to-date.

Avast! programs are only available online and are available in 43 languages. The latest stable Windows version is 9.0, released on 15 October 2013.

Last year, the company’s 25th anniversary, avast! antivirus claimed an industry record by protecting over 200 million PCs, Macs and Android devices worldwide – and was ranked the most-downloaded product on several major global software portals. Also, AVAST Software (the company) acquired the German company secure.me and US-based startup Jumpshot, was awarded the Czech Republic’s “Best Employer 2013” in the category of large companies, and finished the year as the most-profitable IT company in its home country, with just over 350 employees. New product launches included: avast! 2014 series, with its new AI-driven DynaGen technology; avast! SecureLine VPN (a virtual private network for encrypting and anonymizing web activity); and avast! GrimeFighter (for optimizing/ speeding up PC functionality).

“avast! is an antivirus computer program available to Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux users, with a user interface available in 41 languages.”

Company: AVAST Software Name: Marina Ziegler Email: ziegler@avast.com Web: www.avast.com Address: Trianon Office Building Budejovicka 1518/13a 140 00, Prague 4 Czech Republic Tel: 00 420 274 005 777 Fax: 00 420 274 005 888

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 55

Most Respected Training Resource of 2014

Fact File

The Business Continuity Institute The Business Continuity Institute (BCI) is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year but still holds true to its original purpose of “promoting the art and science of business continuity worldwide”. A not for profit organisation with its members at the heart of everything it does, the BCI offers the full range of services expected from a global professional body including publishing, research, networking, awards programmes, conferences, educational webinars and masterclasses, certification and, of course, training.

As a relatively small Institute of c8000 members across 100+ countries, the challenge for the BCI has always been offering a consistent provision for training and other services globally for members and the wider business continuity community. Working with a network of Licenced Training Partners, the BCI is able to deliver training internationally, in several languages, to an assured standard and achieving this Business Excellence Award recognises their efforts as much as those of the BCI Central Office.

To be named Most Respected Training Resource of 2014 is a wonderful recognition of the dedicated effort BCI professional staff, BCI Volunteers and the network of BCI Training Partners have invested in developing and delivering a world class product. From certification training for those studying for the BCI Certificate (CBCI) to a full range of specialist business continuity skills courses, the BCI Training Portfolio has a unique reference that sets it apart from other training available within the discipline. All BCI courses are based upon the BCI’s Good Practice Guidelines – a globally recognised independent body of knowledge for good Business Continuity practice worldwide. Drawing upon the considerable academic, technical and practical experiences and expertise of business continuity professionals from across the BCI’s global certified membership, the Good Practice Guidelines are subject to a stringent quality assurance process to ensure it continues to drive the highest standards in business continuity practice worldwide.

Like Acquisition International Magazine, the BCI also runs an Awards programmes. Seven different geographical regional BCI Awards culminate in the BCI Global Awards held as part of the BCI World Conference and Exhibition in London each year. Recognition and celebration of achievements are important in helping to stimulate continued enthusiasm and healthy competition.

Winning the Most Respected Training Resource of 2014 Award is a remarkable highlight in the history of the Business Continuity Institute especially in its 20th year and will spur staff, volunteers and partners on to meet the challenges of accessing new and developing markets and promoting the profession of business continuity.

“Winning the Most Respected Training Resource of 2014 Award is a remarkable highlight in the history of the Business Continuity Institute especially in its 20th year.”

Company: The Business Continuity Institute Name: Deborah Higgins Email: deborah.higgins@thebci.org Web: www.thebci.org Address: 10-11 Southview Park, Marsack Street, Caversham, Berkshire, RG4 5AF, UK Tel: +44 (0) 118-947 8215 Fax: +44 (0) 118-947 6237

Looking ahead, the Institute will continue to build upon its Thought Leadership credentials by publishing white papers and carrying out further research projects all of which feed into helping BCI Training maintain its winning edge.

Secure Delivery Service Provider of the Year - UK

Fact File

DX Group (plc) Established in 1975, and delivering approximately 170 million items in 2013 alone, DX is a leading independent logistics and parcel distribution company operating throughout the UK and Ireland.

We are delighted to be named Secure Delivery Service Provider of the Year, UK. We pride ourselves on not only delivering a secure set of products but also a reliable and high performing service. We were the first company to really provide innovations in the delivery process by adding additional security features, for example photos and a GPS location stamp of the property we delivered the item to. We are seeking many more innovations to provide a safe and secure service that is trusted right across the UK. This innovation is often driven by the very close relationship we build with our customers to establish their plans and objectives to ensure DX can provide as much value as possible and to develop services to fit the needs of our customers.

Awards like this are vital – they add real credibility. What could be better than an award voted for by customers and users for the services provided? They really help the industry to raise its profile and demonstrate market leading performance.

Technology is moving at such a rapid rate it is difficult to keep abreast of the latest developments and to determine which ones

can add real benefit to our customers rather than creating capability for the sake of it. This can put a strain on the organisation as we seek to implement and deliver value added services that give our customers competitive advantage. While continuing to develop capability, minimising loss has to be the number one objective and we have shown we are capable of doing this year in and year out.

We live in a commoditised industry and therefore service is the primary driver, if you continue to meet the standard set out by our customers you cannot go far wrong. Building long lasting partnerships allows DX to really get to grips with our customers challenges and goals and we can work towards their objectives together developing solutions and capability they can leverage.

When seeking a delivery service provider, clients should be looking for a trusted partner that delivers. Great service performance and a strong track record of reliability are essential. We spend a great deal of time understanding our customers and delivering for them. If we can make our customer successful by delivering new capability, minimising losses they can be successful. Working in partnership really enables DX to get into the detail with our customers and enables us to provide real and tangible bottom line impact and an excellent customer experience.

“We are delighted to be named Secure Delivery Service Provider of the Year, UK. We pride ourselves on not only delivering a secure set of products but also a reliable and high performing service.”

Company: DX Group (plc) Name: James Timberlake Email: james.timberlake@thedx.co.uk Web: www.thedx.co.uk

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56 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Business Airline of the Year – Africa

Fact File

Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines, the fastest growing and most profitable airline in Africa, made its maiden international flight to Cairo in 1946 and now the Airline provides dependable services to over 80 international destinations spanning five continents.

Ethiopian airline operates the newest and youngest fleet, including the latest B787-Dreamliners, the B777-200LRs and B777-300ERs.

Company: Ethiopian Airlines Name: Mengistu Adelahu Email: publicrelations@ ethiopianairlines.com Web: www.ethiopianairlines.com Tel: +25115178407 Follow us on: www.facebook.com/ ethiopianairlines.com www.twitter.com/flyethiopian www.youtube.com/flyethiopian

Ethiopian is proud to be a Star Alliance Member. The Star Alliance network is the leading global airline network offering customers convenient worldwide reach and a smoother travel experience. The Star Alliance network offers more than 18,000 daily flights to 1296 airports within 193 countries.

Ethiopian is a multi-award winner for its commitment and contributions towards the development and growth of the African aviation industry and in recognition of its distinguished long-haul operations enhanced by the introduction of new routes and products. Among the many awards Ethiopian won in consecutive years for its outstanding and sustainable performance, the recent past major awards include; World Airline Award for Best Airline Staff Service in Africa 2013 (SKYTRAX): Passengers’ choice Best Airline in Africa – 2013 (APEX): International Diamond Prize for Excellence in Quality (ESQR), Bombardiers Airline Reliability Performance Award 2013 and Africa’s Best Business Class Airline (China - Beijing).

With its acquisition of and firm orders for several new modern aircraft and its fast expanding network, the airline is well positioned to become the leading aviation group in Africa, per its Vision 2025 strategic roadmap.

Oil & Gas Sector CEO of the Year - USA

Fact File

Glori Energy Inc. Glori Energy is an energy technology company known for our proprietary AERO™ System, a highly efficient, biotechnology process for increasing oil recovery from existing reservoirs. Only one-third of all oil discovered in a typical reservoir is recoverable using conventional technologies; the rest remains trapped. Glori’s AERO technology recovers this trapped oil by stimulating a reservoir’s native microorganisms to sustainably increase the ultimate incremental recovery.

2014 has been a big year for Glori. In March, we completed our first significant oilfield acquisition, and in April, we went public on the NASDAQ. We are now working hard towards our next acquisition and have also been shortlisted as a finalist for the World Petroleum Council Excellence Awards, a prestigious award given once every three years.

Being named Oil & Gas Sector CEO of the Year came as a great surprise and is truly appreciated as a recognition of all the people that make up Glori. As CEO, I realize that I am just the recipient of an accolade to which everyone in the company contributed. It is easy to stand out when riding the shoulders of great people.

Glori’s number one challenge is ensuring we have the right resources to execute against our strategy; namely people and capital. The oil industry adopts technology slowly and timeframes for

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building business are long; therefore building a strong coalition of support is critical.

Glori’s Q1 strategy was bold –acquire an oilfield, raise debt and equity, go public through a reverse merge, and complete a PIPE investment – all within three months. With many moving parts, it was critical that every piece fell into place perfectly. Victor Perez, CFO, and his team were under tremendous pressure to ensure filings, audits and financial reports were completed on time. Tom Holland, SVP Acquisitions and Production, and his team were focused on diligence and reserve reports as well as the integration of the new oil property into our business. Glori’s legal team, led by Chuck Powell at NortonRoseFulbright, worked around the clock to avoid last minute complications. And our technology and operations teams, led by Dr. Michael Pavia, CTO, Ken Nimitz, SVP Operations, and Bud Bierhaus, SVP, Business Development, focused on the critical element of keeping Glori’s core business growing.

Awards such as this are important in promoting the performance of companies that are taking on big issues and making bold moves.

Bringing greater recognition through Acquisitions International helps us broadcast our message to an even larger audience. The Society of Petroleum Engineers has recognized Enhanced Oil Recovery as one of the “Grand Challenges” of the industry, and we are honoured to be acknowledged for our hard work and innovative approach in this area.

“Awards such as this are important in promoting the performance of companies that are taking on big issues and making bold moves.”

Company: Glori Energy Inc. Name: Stuart Page, CEO Email: info@glorienergy.com Web: www.glorienergy.com Address: 4315 South Drive Houston, TX 77053

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 57

Mining Management Team of the Year - Canada

Fact File

Northern Graphite Corporation Northern Graphite was the first of the new, public graphite companies. It recognized early that graphite, a mundane industrial mineral, was poised to become a strategic mineral due to the world’s unhealthy dependence on Chinese production and to growing demand from new applications such as lithium ion batteries. Subsequent to the formation of Northern, both the United States and the European Union declared graphite a supply critical mineral.

demand is expected to accelerate. The new Tesla “gigafactory” alone for example would require up to six new graphite mines.

Mr. Bowes has spent the last five years educating investors and the market about the industry and is well regarded for taking a very professional, analytical, statesmanlike approach while avoiding the hype that surrounds so many junior resource companies. He has probably done more than anyone to publicize the industry and the graphite investment opportunity.

Northern’s Bissett Creek project also has a number of significant competitive advantages. It is the only true large flake deposit and will receive much higher prices for its product. It is located in the politically stable jurisdiction of Canada and has the best infrastructure of any new graphite project. All of these factors contribute to it also having the lowest capital cost and the highest operating margin.

Graphite prices are currently low due to the slowdown in China and a lack of growth in the US, Europe and Japan. While it is true that all commodities would benefit from a pick up in world economies, graphite has two factors that suggest its relative performance will be very good. First, production and exports are expected to decline from China which produces 80% of the world’s graphite. Second, growth in demand from lithium ion batteries continues to grow at double digit rates despite general economic conditions. And as electric vehicles become more popular, this

Being first to recognize the supply/demand dynamic that was developing has given Northern a substantial head start over the competition. This has translated into it being the only graphite company to have completed a full feasibility study and to have received its major environmental permit.

The next phase for Northern is lining up strategic partners, offtake agreements and financing. Assuming this happens before year end, construction would begin shortly thereafter and be followed by production in mid 2016. This would make Northern the first new graphite mine in the west in over 20 years while providing a secure source of high quality supply to critical markets.

Innovation in Biopharma - USA

“Being first to recognize the supply/ demand dynamic that was developing has given Northern a substantial head start over the competition.”

Company: Northern Graphite Corporation Name: Gregory Bowes Email: gbowes@ northerngraphite.com Web: http://northerngraphite.com/ Address: 290 Picton Avenue, Suite 201, Ottawa, Ontario K1Z 8P8 Tel: +1 (613) 241-9959 Fax: +1 (613) 241-6005

Fact File

PDL BioPharma PDL BioPharma is a publicly traded company that manages a portfolio of patents and royalty assets, and seeks to reinvest its excess cash in income generating assets. PDL’s royalty assets consist primarily of its Queen et al. antibody humanization patents and license agreements with various biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. PDL pioneered the humanization of monoclonal antibodies and, by doing so, enabled the discovery of a new generation of targeted treatments for cancer and immunologic diseases for which it receives significant royalty revenue on several of the biggest blockbuster products in the biotechnology industry, including Avastin and Herceptin. Most recently PDL’s antibody technology was named as a top-three finalist for the European Patent Office’s highly prestigious 2014 European Inventor Award in the “Non-European Countries” category.

The company was formerly known as Protein Design Labs, Inc. and changed its name to PDL BioPharma, Inc. in 2006. PDL was founded in 1986 and is headquartered in Incline Village, Nevada.

PDL is currently focused on intellectual property asset management, acquiring new income generating assets, and maximizing value for its shareholders. In 2011, PDL initiated a strategy to bring in new income generating assets to PDL from the healthcare sector. To accomplish this goal, PDL seeks to provide non-dilutive growth capital and financing solutions to late stage

public and private healthcare companies and offers immediate financial monetization of royalty streams to companies, academic institutions, and inventors. PDL continues to pursue this strategic initiative for which it has already deployed over $700 million to date. PDL is focused on the quality of the income generating assets and potential returns on investment, and offers a broad range of flexible, non-dilutive financing structures.

The PDL team has diverse and deep knowledge in pharma, biotech, medtech, clinical medicine, operations, corporate finance and law which facilitates PDL’s ability to expertly analyze, structure and execute strategic transactions.

“PDL and our shareholders have benefited greatly from the licensing of our antibody technology, as the royalty stream related to the sale of the products derived from this technology has allowed us to be the highest dividend-yielding company among biotech and pharmaceutical companies,” said John P. McLaughlin, president and chief executive officer of PDL. “In addition, we are pleased with our strategy to seek new income generating assets and provide non-dilutive financing, focusing on investing in commercial stage products and companies with an attractive risk/return profile, and the recognition we received from Acquisition International’s 2014 Business Excellence Awards.”

“We are pleased with the recognition we received from Acquisition International’s 2014 Business Excellence Awards” Company: PDL Pharma Name: Peter Garcia Email: peter.garcia@pdl.com Web: www.pdl.com/ Address: 932 Southwood Blvd.

Incline Village, NV 89451 Tel: 775 832 8500 Fax: 775 832 8501

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58 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Telecoms CEO of the Year - Canada

Fact File

Virtutone Virtutone Networks Inc. is a leading International long-distance wholesale carrier, focused on Africa and Latin American destinations. I am honoured to be named telecoms CEO of the year, as there are a lot of great CEO’s in our industry. I believe it is great that Virtutone is being recognized for its leadership in the industry, as our team has been working very hard to get us to where we are today. We believe in our people, and ensuring that we have great people in key positions to excel the company. We ensure that

we are offering the best quality and the best price to our clients.

Building and maintain quality relationships with our clients is a key part of our success. At Virtutone, we have full transparency philosophy, we mean what we say and deliver on that promise. At Virtutone, we have a dot com culture, where we work hard and play hard. We believe that strong relationships between our employees helps the company work more efficiently overall.

Calgary, Alberta Jeff Whyte / Shutterstock.com

“I am honoured to be named telecoms CEO of the year, as there are a lot of great CEO’s in our industry. I believe it is great that Virtutone is being recognized for its leadership in the industry, as our team has been working very hard to get us to where we are today.”

Company: Virtutone Name: Jason Allen Email: jallen@virtutone.com Web: www.virtutone.com/ Address: #240, 2181 Premier Way, Sherwood Park Alberta, Canada T8H 2V1 Tel: +1 780 702 5777 Fax: +1 780 702 5775

Industrial Metals & Minerals Company of the Year - Canada

Fact File

Western Potash Corp Western Potash Corp is a development stage company focused on building a potash solution mine on the Milestone Property located in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. Expertice in exploration has resulted in the successful delivery of this world class potash project and one of the most advanced Greenfield potash projects in the world. We are pleased to be included in the Business Excellence Awards. Being named the Industrial Metals & Minerals Company of the Year highlights the quality of work.

In December 2012, along with AMEC of Americas, Western completed a Feasibility Study on the project. The asset is of sufficient size and grade to mine for more than 40 years at a production rate of 2.8 mtpy.

Our goal is to become one of the lowest cost potash solution mines in North America.

We have worked hard at being an active member in our community. We have obtained Environmental Assessment Approval from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Environment. Western has also executed a mutually beneficial agreement with the City of Regina securing the long term, economical and reliable source of process water to be used for the mine. This contributes to achieving a sustainable community and alleviates some of the downstream negative effects of releasing treated effluent from the city into the river system.

The past few years in the potash market have been unusually volatile. The price was cut by over 30% in mid-2013 as the Russian

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producers altered their marketing strategy. However, our intention is to focus on the long term view that the potash industry is positive and robust. Remaining positive during these last few years has allowed us to continue to raise capital to advance the project and continue to attract the type of investors that have the capability and interest to put Milestone into production.

At Western Potash Corp we have learned that timing is critical. We have been able to maintain continuity in the project team and corporate leadership as a result of the quality of work and planning. This is critical to bringing a project forward in a challenging environment.

The next step is to obtain the necessary funding in order to build the mine at Milestone. Acquiring the right strategic partner and obtaining project financing takes time and requires patience. We currently have one strategic partner in-place and we are confident that our geographic location and proven geology continues to offer an opportunity for additional partners.

“We are pleased to be included in the Business Excellence Awards and being named the Industrial Metals & Minerals Company of the Year highlights the quality of work.”

Company: Western Potash Corp Name: David Thornley-Hall Email: David@westernpotash.com Web: www.westernpotash.com Address: 1400-1111 West Georgia Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6E 4M3, Canada Tel: 604 689 WEST (9378)

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 61

Financial Services

AIP is a privately-held investment firm, which has global reach through its offices and representatives in Toronto, Moscow, Seoul and Dubai.

AIP focuses on emerging growth companies primarily in Financial Services, Technology and Resource sectors with unique assets, strong business model and seasoned management teams with the skills and ability to grow the company quickly to profitability.

AIP provides private equity, private debt, venture capital, special situations investments and shortterm financing as well as technical, board and managerial leadership and guidance through the go-public and M&A process for projects of interest.

Investment size usually falls between $1m and $5m, although larger transactions may be accommodated as required.

AIP TD North Tower 77 King Street West, Suite 4140 Toronto, ON M5K 1E7 CANADA Tel: 416 601 0808 Toll-free: 855 275 0868 Email: info@aipprivatecapital.com

Manufacturing

Essentra plc is a FTSE 250 company and a leading international supplier of speciality plastic, fibre, foam and packaging products, with four principal operating divisions; Component & Protection Solutions, Porous Technologies, Packaging & Securing Solutions and Filter Products.

Essentra focuses on the light manufacture and distribution of high volume, essential components which serve customers in a wide variety of end-markets and geographies.

Essentra’s strategy seeks to maximise shareholder value through the delivery of balanced profitable growth in both its existing and future opportunity markets and technologies. The strategy also calls for strong conversion of profit into cash and a progressive dividend policy. The Company looks to complement this balanced organic growth with value-adding acquisitions.

Headquartered in the United Kingdom, Essentra’s global network extends to 33 countries and includes c. 5,700 employees, 42 principal manufacturing facilities, 64 sales & distribution operations and 5 research & development centres.

Essentra plc Avebury House 201-249 Avebury Boulevard Milton Keynes MK9 1AU Tel: +44 (0)1908 359100 Fax: +44 (0)1908 359120 Email: enquiries@essentra.com Web: www.essentra.com

Events Management

Gala Tent Ltd is a leader in the patent design and distribution of commercial quality marquee, gazebos and modular structures. The company has the largest stock of tents, marquees, commercial pop up gazebos and accessories in Europe and is actively expanding its range of products, warehousing operations and services. Founded in September 1999, Gala Tent Ltd is a multi-award winning company that completely changed the event industry forever making it affordable to buy a marquee rather than hire. Gala Tent also revolutionised the outdoor market trader industry with their commercial range of pop up printed gazebos and accessories. Currently selling over £7 million of tents and accessories each year worldwide and the first mail order marquee company in the UK, Gala Tent was also in the vanguard of the online retail revolution, having had an active e-commerce website since May 2000. In addition to direct sales to the general public, Gala Tent Ltd is also the preferred contract supplier for many hire companies, councils, military and branches of the emergency services.

Gala Tent Limited Unit 10, Farfield Park Manvers Way Wath-Upon-Dearne Rotherham South Yorkshire S63 5DB Tel: 0871 423 4252 Email: info@galatent.co.uk

Education

Grebot Donnelly, part of the Paperhat Group, is a leading marketing and communications consultancy providing innovative strategic and creative services that deliver unrivalled outcomes for the education sector.

As a full service, integrated agency, Grebot Donnelly has been providing its national client base with creative solutions for over 11 years, with measurable and impressive results. With a proven track record for repositioning schools across the country, we foster a strategic and sustainable approach to marketing and communications.

As part of the Paperhat Group, a global marketing and creative agency, our strategic approach is complemented by a range of creative services including: social media, websites, graphic design, digital marketing, photography, videos, apps and printed literature.

Grebot Donnelly’s mission is to deliver effective cultural transformation and develop brand identities, supporting clients to achieve their marketing objectives.

Grebot Donnelly Associates GDA House 1 The Mews Bridge Road Twickenham TW1 1RE Tel: 020 8892 2242 Email: info@grebotdonnelly.com Web: www.grebotdonnelly.com

Nominee 2014

Legal

Energy

Legal

Talent Management

Marcus Jones & Co. Barristers & Solicitors, Notaries Public, Commissioner For Oaths, Patent & Trade Mark Attorneys

Linc Energy is a diversified energy company with a global portfolio of conventional and unconventional oil, gas, shale and coal assets.

Marcus Jones & Co. Sydney Chambers 7 Walpole Street Freetown Sierra Leone

The Company has a world leading capability in Underground Coal Gasification (UCG), which is the process of converting coal into a synthetic gas in-situ. UCG syngas and its by-products can be used as feedstock for different downstream processes, including power generation, transportation fuels and synthetic natural gas.

Tel: +232 22 223494 (Office) or +232 76 660 or +44 0208 676 0864 or +232 77 255979 (Mr. Horace George) Email wsmarcusjones@hotmail.com

Linc Energy’s SAPEX business line holds petroleum and mineral licenses in South Australia with a total area of approximately 24.6 million acres.

Exploration in this area shows excellent potential for quality shale oil, comparing favourably to other high-volume shale oil locations around the world.

The Company also holds Oil and Gas reserves, primarily based onshore in the US and wholly-owns New Emerald Coal Ltd (NEC), a subsidiary which they are planning to divest.

Linc Energy is listed on the SGX and OTCQX and has offices in Australia, United States, Europe and Singapore.

Linc Energy Smellie & Co Building, 32 Edward Street Brisbane, QLD, 4000, Australia GPO Box 1315, Brisbane, QLD, 4001 Tel: +61 7 3229 0800 Fax: +61 7 3229 6800 Email: linc@lincenergy.com Web: www.lincenergy.com

Our ambition is to offer you more than what you generally expect from a law firm. To reach that goal, we have reconsidered our job with a view to enhancing the value of your activity by offering various services.

We propose to walk hand in hand with you, and to help your secure, optimise and dynamise your activities by making the most of law provisions.

Whether the point is to offer assistance for the setting up of a new business, go hand and hand in an ongoing business or help you secure to patrimony, our firm offers a range of services adapted to your needs.

To allow you to make the best of these, we guarantee total availability and reactivity. Lending an ear to our client is our policy to better meet your needs. Feel free at any time to let us know your opinion about the services we offer. We are striving to make our dedication match your legitimate demand. This site is at your service. Make it yours by making suggestions for its improvement. While hoping you will put or renew your trust in us, do believe in our respectful feelings.

SCP Mame Adama Gueye & Associes 26 Rue Amadou Assane Ndoye DAKAR BP 11443 Dakar-SENEGAL Tel: +221 33 849 28 00 Fax: +221 33 821 48 09 Email: magueye@avocats-maga.sn Web: www.avocats-maga.sn

M&C Saatchi Merlin is a leading creative talent management company, comprehensively managing the careers of some of the most influential and high profile figures from the worlds of sport and entertainment. They are the only talent management agency to be owned by a global advertising agency, making their proposition and global reach both unique and unrivalled.

Founded in 2003 by awarding winning entrepreneur Richard Thompson, M&C Saatchi Merlin prides itself on doing whatever it takes to achieve the best possible outcome for its clients.

Founder and Chairman, Thompson, when asked for his thoughts on being named Creative Talent Management Agency of the Year, remarked: “To win this award is a testament to the hard work and dedication that M&C Saatchi Merlin personifies. It not only highlights the strengths of our business, but also the influence of the wider M&C Saatchi Group, and, crucially, the talent of our clients, whom we value so highly.”

Since joining M&C Saatchi, M&C Saatchi Merlin has grown by over 30%, signing many new clients with additional acquisitions on the horizon.

M&C Saatchi Merlin 36 Golden Square London W1F 9EE Tel: 0207 259 1460 Email: enquiries@mcsaatchimerlin.com Web: www.mcsaatchimerlin.com Twitter: @MCSaatchiMerlin

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62 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Shipping Construction

As a leading naval shipyard in Africa, Nautic Africa offers turnkey vessel solutions, which include new vessel design and construction, new vessel leasing and life-cycle services, vessel operating and vessel support. Nautic’s offering is at the forefront of modern shipbuilding.

Nautic Africa specialises in high speed, ballistic protected, aluminium patrol vessels, ranging from 9 to 90m. Each vessel is expertly designed and manufactured according to the most stringent ship building techniques available today.

For more information contact James Fisher on james@nauticafrica.com or on (+27) 21 200 0601.

Nautic Africa Level 2 Atlantic Centre, Christiaan Barnard St, 8001 Cape Town Tel: + 27 (0)21 200 0601/+27 (0) 21 201 0234 Fax: 27 (0)87 942 5315 Suite 33 Private bag x16 Constantia 7848 Vat: 403 025 4025|Reg: 2009/007037/07 Nautic Africa: Factory Corner Marine Drive & Container Road Table Bay Harbour 8001 Cape Town

With a constantly evolving tax system in the United Kingdom, effectively managing tax affairs is an increasingly challenging but essential part of your business or personal financial planning.

In this fast-paced tax environment we can help save you or your business money and time, and reduce your risk exposure. BDO is renowned for our expertise and in-depth understanding of the issues – we are past winners of the LexisNexis Taxation Award for Best Tax Team in a Large Firm, Best High Net Worth Team, and our Transfer Pricing Team won the Accountancy Age Award for Tax Team of the Year.

BDO Web: www.bdo.co.uk

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Legal

Founded in 2005, PBC Partners & RHTLaw provides legal and legal related consultancy services.

The firm strives to create value both internally and externally and has now planted its feet firmly on the Vietnam legal map.

It how has two offices, one in Ho Chi Minh City and the other in Hanoi and through its associations, PBC PARTNERS & RHTLaw has also extended its reach to Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East.

Being prompt is crucial in today’s globalised and fast paced business environment. The combined international and domestic experience of our partners coupled with our rapport with the government, ensure that we are prepared to deliver promptly.

Creativity both in terms of adding value and providing solutions are qualities we admire most and it is this ethos, together with being prompt, that drives the delivery of our services. The firm’s practice areas cover inward and outward investment, trading and commerce, M&As, real estate and construction, banking and finance, international trade, telecommunication, taxation, employment and dispute resolution. The firm is also active in contributing towards the improvement and development of the wider Vietnamese legal system.

Tax

Our Corporate Tax lawyers advise on all aspects of corporate and business taxation and much of our work is of an international nature. Our team, which includes full time economists, transfer pricing and VAT advisors, frequently work in close cooperation with tax lawyers in other Baker & McKenzie offices in connection with cross-border transactions and the structuring of cross-border investment.

As well as advising on the UK tax aspects of international projects, the London Tax Department has particular experience in the coordination of tax advice from many countries in multijurisdictional projects such as international group structuring and mergers and acquisitions.

Baker & McKenzie Web: www.bakermckenzie.com

Tax impacts all of us in all our business and private activities. Tax is seldom black and white and there will frequently be a range of options for every decision relating to tax.To ensure that you see the full picture and understand all the issues to allow you to make the right decision just ask a tax specialist at Baker Tilly.

Our experience We have practical experience, knowledge and in depth understanding of UK and overseas taxation.

We know our clients require well thought-out plans that address their situation as a whole - a ‘quick fix’ that works advantageously for one tax may not do so for others and might not fit the overriding commercial objectives.

Baker Tilly can provide you with balanced, integrated solutions covering potential liabilities for all forms of tax in the UK and overseas.

Baker Tilly Web: www.bakertilly.co.uk

PBC PARTNERS & RHTLaw 05th Floor Bitexco Office Building, 19-25 Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City – VIETNAM Tel: (+84-8) 3820 6448 Fax: (+84-8) 3820 6450 Email. pbc@pbcpartners.com.vn

Our tax lawyers provide the full range of contentious and non-contentious tax advice to clients both in the UK and globally. Our expertise, strength and depth is acknowledged in the market and reflected in our promotions in the leading legal directories. We are now alongside Magic Circle firms in corporate tax generally (which includes real estate, funds, finance and corporate) and top ranked in contentious tax.

We advise a wide range of clients including banks, funds and other financial institutions, insurance companies, real estate developers and investors, retailers and public bodies. Example clients include Canary Wharf Group, Credit Suisse, Royal Bank of Scotland and Tesco Plc. Berwin Leighton Paisner Web: www.blplaw.com

Cleary Gottlieb’s international tax practice ranks among the top in the world and provides clients with an unparalleled level of service and insight into the most challenging of corporate transactions. Peers and clients alike recognize our tax group’s talents for creative tax planning, cross-border innovations and the resolution of difficult tax controversies.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton Web: www.cgsh.com

CMS’ 2,800 law and tax experts in 56 international offices help organisations thrive in changing times. Through our technical rigour, strategic expertise and deep focus on building long-term partnerships, we are committed to putting our clients and their business success first.

At CMS, we understand our clients’ industries and markets. Find an expert on our website CMS Mitre House 160 Aldersgate Street London EC1A 4DD Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 3000 Fax: +44 (0)20 7367 2000 Email: communications@cms-cmck.com Web: www.cms-cmck.com

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 63

With specialist tax lawyers, advocates, accountants and chartered tax advisers, we provide the innovative tax structures that make effective tax management less painful. The complexity of modern business arrangements means that pre-packaged solutions are now of limited application - only tax arrangements that are unique to your business are likely to provide you with real commercial value.

On stand alone tax matters or as part of corporate transactions, we maximise tax opportunities in all areas of your business. Our specialisations include private equity, real estate, banking and structured finance, commercial projects, funds and employee incentives.

DLA Piper Web: www.dlapiper.com/uk

Businesses operating across national borders are faced by widely differing systems in different countries, even within the European Union. The international tax group is able to chart a way through the maze of differing tax legislation in different countries to provide integrated tax advice in and across a number of jurisdictions, particularly in Europe, but also in Africa and South East Asia.

The international tax group provides standalone structuring advice, but also assistance dealing with enquiries from tax authorities and a transactional tax advisory service, working with colleagues in other legal disciplines within the firm.

Where appropriate, we will also project manage the delivery of tax advice or coordinate input to transactional documents from a number of countries in order to provide a multi-national solution.

Eversheds Web: www.eversheds.com

Ayhan Üstün is a tax partner, leading the tax advisory service line of KPMG in Turkey. The tax advisory team of KPMG in Turkey includes professionals dedicated to M&A tax and international tax services that specialise in advising multinational companies to structure their M&A, reorganisation and new investments in Turkey.

Major corporates and financial institutions depend on the analytical ability and unrivalled deal-structuring experience of Linklaters’ global tax lawyers. The team integrates innovative tax structuring expertise with the highest quality advisory skills to give clients a comprehensive cross-border tax service.

Ayhan Üstün and his team have been recognised by many professional magazines and industry overviews as one of the leading advisors in Turkey.

Over 120 Linklaters tax experts worldwide advise on all aspects of cross-border advisory and transactional tax matters. Particular fields of expertise include M&A and joint ventures, capital raising, tax based and structured finance, as well as real estate and investment funds.

As a part of a comprehensive transactions advisory team including, financial, commercial and tax experts, the tax advisory team of KPMG provide clients with a wide range of services, such as, pre-deal tax planning advise, analysis of alternative deal structures, due diligence, identification of tax related risks and opportunities during the deal evaluation phase, assistance in post-acquisition implementation, assistance in negotiation of tax related matters with other party (buyer versus. seller), recommendation on tax effective solutions to international complexities (e.g. repatriation of cash, use of tax treaty provisions etc.).

Linklaters Web: www.linklaters.com

The decisions our entrepreneurial and multinational clients take about their complex tax obligations make a vital difference to their business. As an experienced tax professional, you’ll appreciate the complexities involved in creating effective tax strategies. And with the current economic climate likely to generate further changes to regulatory and legislative regimes around the world, our role as trusted advisors is as important as ever.

By staying on top of these rapid developments, we can provide the insight, advice and guidance clients need to navigate today’s tax regimes. If you have in-depth technical knowledge, excellent client relationship skills and intellectual rigour and stamina, you could be part of our global network, working in cross-functional teams across borders and industries.

Every year, thousands of individuals and businesses pay more tax than they need to. Our teams have the know-how to advise you and your business on your overall tax exposure and to guide or work with you on dealing with the complexities of both the UK and international tax systems.

Our specialist teams who help everyone from high net worth individuals to multi-national large companies; entrepreneurs growing their businesses to employees looking to offer the most effective tax solutions to incentivise and reward their staff.

Grant Thornton Web: www.grant-thornton.co.uk

EY Web: www.ey.com

Mazars is an international firm. With worldwide connections and a strong European footing, we understand the tax implications of working in a global economy.

Wherever our clients are, we are there to support them. Mazars provides international tax advice to a wide range of clients around the globe - from owner-managed businesses to listed European companies, from emerging markets in India and China to North and South America.

Our international tax team provide specialist advice, ranging from cross-border mergers and acquisitions to transfer pricing and international financing operations to setting up new operations overseas. We are also experts in structuring cross-border real estate transactions and European case law.

With an international geographic reach, Winston & Strawn’s integrated tax practice addresses virtually all areas of tax law. Our group of 40 tax attorneys has extensive experience representing some of the nation’s largest public companies on tax planning and controversy matters. We have successfully assisted clients such as Cisco, Nuveen Investments, Yum! Brands, Waste Management, Republic Services, Lear Corporation, and various financial service companies, such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo. We closely align our tax services to meet specific business needs by partnering with the direct purchasers of tax services, from the vice president of tax on up to the CFO. Winston & Strawn LLP Web: www.winston.com

Mazars Web: www.mazars.co.uk

KPMG – Turkey Name: Ayhan Üstün, partner, tax Address: Kavacık Rüzgarlı Bahçe Mahallesi, Kavak Sok, No:29 Beykoz 34805 ISTANBUL Tel: +90 216 681 90 00 Email: ayhanustun@kpmg.com Web: www.kpmg.com.tr

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64 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Hedge Fund

Baker Tilly - A full-service accounting and advisory firm with specialized professionals who connect with you and your business through refreshing candor and clear industry insight.

Our focus on industry and services specialization means you can expect to work with business advisors who understand your competitive environment and the issues you face.

CACEIS is one of the world’s leading asset servicing providers and is the premier player in the sizeable European fund servicing market. Through offices across Europe, North America and Asia, CACEIS delivers a comprehensive set of high quality services covering: Depositary/Trustee-Custody, Fund Administration, Transfer Agency and Issuer Services. CACEIS is a banking group dedicated to institutional and corporate clients.

Exceptional client service is what separates us from the rest. We ask. We listen. We hear you loud and clear. Learning about you, your organization, and your expectations is critical to our relationship because your definition of satisfaction is the only definition that matters.

Through offices across Europe, North America and Asia, CACEIS delivers a comprehensive set of high quality services covering:

Baker Tilly One Penn Plaza, Suite 3000, New York, NY 10119 United States

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• •

undefined depositary/trustee-custody undefined fund administration and undefined transfer agency undefined issuer services

Supervised by the Danish financial authorities, Capricorn Strategies has assembled a team of investment professionals with a deep understanding of investing in the G-10 currency universe. In our opinion with the increasing number of brokers, traders and investment opportunities, the currency market will continue to produce to introduce unique strategies and opportunities. Clients can be confident that we are dedicated to delivering superior performance in today’s markets and developing new solutions and services which will meet their investment needs in the future.

Capricorn Strategies Email: mr@capricornfx.com Web: www.capricornfx.com

Caceis Investor Services Web: www.caceis.com

Drinker Biddle & Reath (UK) LLC is a full-service law firm with a nationally recognized investment management practice. We have significant experience assisting fund managers with the full array of legal services related to operating registered and unregistered funds (both domestic and offshore), including securities, commodities, tax and benefit plan law.

Our priorities are knowing our clients’ business and providing the value they need so that we can be an integral part of their success. Clients choose us for our sophisticated yet efficient approach to handling their most important business transactions, litigation and government affairs efforts.

Drinker Biddle 50 Mark Lane, 5th Floor London, EC3R 7QR Tel: +44 (0)20 3405 3444 Fax: +44 (0)20 7942 8217 Web: www.drinkerbiddle.com

Contact: Barry H Garfield, Managing Partner Tel: 212 697 6900 Web: www.bakertilly.com

A leading global financial advisory and investment banking firm, Duff & Phelps leverages analytical skills, market expertise and independence to help clients make sound decisions. The firm advises clients in the areas of valuation, M&A and transactions, restructuring, alternative assets, disputes and taxation – with more than 1,000 employees serving clients from offices in North America, Europe and Asia.

The Duff & Phelps Portfolio Valuation team specializes in assisting private equity firms, hedge funds, business development companies and corporations as well as limited partners, institutional investors and endowments with the valuation of alternative investments, specifically securities and positions for which there are no ‘active market’ quotations.

Duff & Phelps’ professionals provide practical guidance on emerging fair value issues initiated by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and governmental bodies as well as industry standards, such as those provided by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the Private Equity Industry Guidelines Group (PEIGG) and the International Private Equity Valuation (IPEV) board. Duff & Phelps also advises on valuation policy best practices and provides investors with an independent third party assessment of their fund manager’s operating policies and procedures.

Duff & Phelps Name: Chris Franzek Tel: +1 212 871 7549 Email: chris.franzek@duffandphelps.com Web: www.duffandphelps.com

www.acquisition-intl.com

Essex Investment Management Company, LLC is an SEC registered investment adviser that manages growth equity portfolios for institutional clients (including corporations, endowments, foundations, municipalities and public funds), high net worth clients, mutual funds (on a sub-advisory basis) and private partnerships. We are based in Boston, Massachusetts and also have an office in Evanston, Illinois.

Despite changing market conditions, we remain focused on adding value to our clients’ investment portfolios through growth stock investing, a strong commitment to compliance and superior client service. Our mission is to provide clients with long-term investment returns consistently above their respective benchmarks with service surpassing their expectations.

Essex Investment Management Company, LLC 125 High Street, 18th Floor Suite 1803 Boston, MA 02110 Tel: 617 342 3200 Fax: 617 342 3280 Email: info@essexinvest.com Web: www.essexinvest.com

FMLA Financial Markets Lawyers is a Netherlands based independent boutique law firm specializing in asset management, investment funds, the pension sector, regulation and supervision of Dutch financial markets and institutions, listings, delistings and other public transactions.

Its lawyers have in-depth experience in setting up legal structures and providing tailor made solutions. When assisting activist shareholders (e.g. hedge funds) targeting publicly traded Dutch and other companies listed on Euronext Amsterdam, FMLA generally has no conflicting interests.

Services include: Asset management and pension sector: advising among others asset managers and pension funds on regulatory and supervisory matters, product development, investment management, custody, investment structures and governance.

Financial services regulation: advising banks, intermediaries and other financial services providers on regulatory and supervisory matters, including conduct of business rules and governance.

Securities markets and investment firms: advising among others investors, trading platforms and other financial markets parties, including brokers and dealers, on securities laws and supervisory matters, corporate governance and strategy, short selling, corporate law, capital markets transactions and public takeover bids.

FMLA Financial Markets Lawyers Name: Hugo Oppelaar Tel: +31 (0)20 348 52 00 Email: Hugo.Oppelaar@FMLAAA.com or info@FMLAAA.com Web: www.fmlaaa.com

Greylock Capital specializes in event-driven, absolute return strategies in the global credit markets, investing in undervalued, distressed, and high yield assets worldwide.

Greylock Capital’s investment team seeks to identify under-analyzed and inefficient markets, and extracts value through strategies built on years of international restructuring experience and on-the-ground investment analysis. Greylock Capital emphasizes capital preservation and growth through prudence, value investing and strategic hedging.

Greylock Capital is comprised of 19 professionals, including 10 investment professionals and 9 infrastructure professionals. Greylock Capital has a full institutional platform, with offices in New York, Singapore and Ghana.

Greylock Capital Management, LLC Name: Charles L. Halsey Tel: (212) 808-1846 Email: marketing@greylockcapital.com Web: www.greylockcapital.com

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 65

Hadron Capital is an independent London-based investment manager established in 2004 and authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). It manages the Hadron Fund since October 2004, and the Hadron Alpha Select Fund, a UCITS-compliant fund launched in April 2010.

Hadron employs a long/short multi-asset class approach focused on capitalising on bottom-up dislocations as well as near-term, catalyst driven investment opportunities. The three co-founding principals have extensive portfolio management experience and proven performance track records.

Company: Hadron Capital Name: Giorgia Pozzoli Email: gp@hadroncapital.com www.hadroncapital.com Tel: +44(0)20 7469 5900

Since inception in 1994, HS Marketing has been immersed in the alternative investment community, serving the marketing objectives of managers, asset allocators and service providers to this space. Our industry expertise covers the whole spectrum of alternatives from the highly liquid end, managed futures, to numerous hedge fund strategies as well as the less liquid investments on the spectrum. We combine a client-centric philosophy with a flexible team approach, as determined by a particular mandate. Client engagements, whether narrow or broad, focus on marketing objectives, communication strategies and visibility opportunities. Our deliverables feature media relations and advertising campaigns, marketing tools, corporate identity / branding systems, positioning, and a variety of dynamic opportunities to be heard, seen and understood.

HS Marketing is dedicated to enhancing the marketing communications capabilities of our clients in the alternative investment community.

ISIS is a specialist fund administrator headquartered in Bermuda with offices in the US and Cayman Islands. The company offers fund administration and middle office services to funds that employ various investments strategies. In 2011, ISIS and the Horseshoe Group formed an administration company called ILS Fund Services that provides independent valuation and administration services to funds investing in insurance linked securities. ISIS’ emphasis on advanced technology, experienced staff, strong control environment, and superior client service have made ISIS a leader in fund administration.

Global Sales 1-704-927-1860 Bermuda 1-441-295-8282 Charlotte 1-704-927-1859 New York 1-646-801-5640 Cayman 1-345-945-0982

LatAm Alternatives is a financial services company and an independent third party advisor boutique established in 2010. Our headquarters is located in Fort Lauderdale, South Florida, commonly known as The Gateway to Latin America.

We are a team of professionals with a focused expertise in the alternatives and traditional global asset management instruments. We believe in long term relationships while representing the most outstanding managers in targeted strategies.

Also, through our unique educational and consulting products (mostly in Spanish) we are helping investors, investment professionals, regulators and students to upgrade their skills into the important alternative and traditional investment industry.

ISIS Web: www.isisfunds.bm

LatAm Alternatives 1950 North Commerce Parkway, Suite 2 Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33326 Tel: 954-642-8527 Email: info@latamalternatives.com Web: www.latamalternatives.com

Quality Capital Management Ltd (QCM) is a UK based systematic global macro hedge fund manager. The company, founded in 1995, is regulated in the UK by the FCA and registered in the US with the CFTC and NFA as a CTA and CPO.

We entered the asset servicing business decades ago. Today, hundreds of talented associates team up to work on our clients’ business with a level of passion and expertise that’s unmatched in the industry.

QCM actively manages investments for its investors by applying its proprietary systematic global macro strategy to a diverse set of liquid and listed futures markets traded on major global exchanges. Through a seamless investment process, the strategy attempts to generate a non-correlated and sustainable source of absolute return with a strong focus on long run wealth creation.

We’re focused on being a critical partner in the growth of our clients’ businesses. Our clients benefit from the financial strength and service breadth of a large financial services organization, combined with the responsiveness, accessibility and consultative approach of a boutique service provider.

Specialized industry knowledge, strategic insights, and passion for high caliber results are hallmarks of who we are. Clients count on us for creativity, communication strategies, focused messages and integrated solutions.

Our deliverables feature media relations and advertising campaigns, marketing tools, corporate identity / branding systems, and a variety of dynamic opportunities to be heard, seen and understood.

HS Marketing, LLC Address: Princeton Junction, New Jersey Web: www.hsmarketing.com Tel: 609.275.1303

McGladrey LLP is the leading US provider of assurance, tax and consulting services focused on the middle market, with more than 6,500 people in 75 offices nationwide. With more than 50 years’ experience serving the financial services community in key financial hubs, McGladrey professionals help organizations navigate complex reporting, governance and regulatory issues to achieve their business objectives.

We provide industry insight, advice and solutions to financial services organizations across the country and around the world. McGladrey is a licensed CPA firm and serves clients around the world through RSM International, a global network of independent assurance, tax and consulting firms.

McGladrey LLP 1185 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10036 Tel: 212.372.1000 Web: www.mcgladrey.com

PwC is founded on a culture of partnership with a strong commercial focus. It sets the standard and drives the professional agenda, while valuing its past and investing in the future. One firm: a powerhouse of a commercial enterprise doing the right thing for its clients, people and communities.

One firm We are an extensively networked organisation aiming to bring the best of PwC to our clients every time through combining rigour with fun, relishing complex challenges and creating a flow of people and ideas.

Powerhouse Our clients and people benefit from the energy and power of the firm. We have talented, enterprising and intellectually curious people striving to achieve success with our clients, enabling us to attract, develop and excite the best people and inspire our clients’ confidence.

Do the right thing We will deliver exceptional value with integrity, confidence and humility. By supporting one another and our communities we have the courage to express our views, even when they may not be popular.

PwC Name: Robert Mellor Tel: 0207 804 1385 Email: robert.mellor@uk.pwc.com Web: www.pwc.co.uk

QCM’s core strategy is offered through two portfolios, the QCM Global Diversified Programme (GDP) and the Alpha Financials Programme (AFP). The QCM GDP trades globally in 116 financial and commodity futures across Equities, Bonds, Currencies and Commodities. The QCM AFP trades 56 financial futures across Equities, Bonds and Currencies.

UMB Fund Services 803 W. Michigan Street Milwaukee, WI 53233 Web: www.umbfs.com

Quality Capital Management Ltd QCM House, Horizon Business Village 1 Brooklands Road Weybridge, Surrey KT13 0TJ U.K. Tel: +44 (0)1932 334400 Fax: +44 (0)1932 334415 Email: info@qualitycapital.com Web: www.qualitycapital.com

www.acquisition-intl.com

66 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Mergers & Acquisitions

Automotive retail sector specialists ASE conduct M&A transactions on behalf of motor dealers and manufacturer networks throughout the UK and worldwide. After 40 years of operating within the automotive industry, ASE provide added value insight to offer more than a generalist firm.

Working with thousands of dealers, manufacturers and industry partners worldwide, ASE’s expert understanding of the sector, its operational processes and industry protocols, ensures a uniquely relevant and detailed service which goes beyond the normal Due Diligence reporting. This knowledge facilitates a prompt identification of areas of concern or focus and allows for tailored solutions to be immediately implemented as the transaction progresses.

ASE’s team of ex-motor trade and Big Fourtrained accountancy and tax professionals and automotive business consultants, combine to ensure the maximisation of any vendor opportunity and minimisation of risks associated for an acquirer. ASE provide the complete package including initial introductions, preparing Heads of Terms, advising on completion accounts, identifying transactional tax savings as well as managing the whole M&A process.

ASE plc Rowan Court, Concord Business Park, Manchester, M22 0RR, UK Tel: +44 (0) 161 493 1930 Fax: +44 (0) 161 493 1931 Web: www.ase-global.com

Founded in in 1996, Cabinet SEDDIK is an accountancy and consulting firm based in Casablanca and operating across all of Morocco. The business is home to 20 employees, including a number of multidisciplinary teams and high-level experts who specialise in a variety of industries, meaning that the firm is able to oversee each individual case and support every client to provide an efficient bespoke service.

Richard Taylor has, for the past 15 years, been providing corporate financial advisory services for privately-held businesses including part-time CFO assignments, turnaround guidance and M&A transactions including due diligence.

The firm’s mission is to assist its clients in all areas of consulting, relying on appropriate skills while always remaining on the lookout for technological innovations.

Global Capital Advisors, LLC is differentiated from other financial advisory firms in that it provides (a) turnaround/restructuring/receivership guidance, (b) part-time CFO services, and (c) lower middle market M&A assistance through its affiliation with M&A Consultants, Ltd.

Its services cover various fields, ensuring that it always meets the demand of its customers and keeps its service consistent, integrated and harmonious.

The range of services offered include: • Audit and statutory audit and contributions • Management consulting • Support accounting • Financial planning and implementation • Legal and tax • Training and human resource development • Diagnostics support

He has been a financial officer for both large and small businesses, has owned his own business, and has substantial international experience.

Global Capital Advisors, LLC 3914 North Farwell Avenue Milwaukee, WI 53211 USA Tel: 414-975-0830

Salles Sainz- Grant Thornton, .S.C., can supply a wide range of services to underperforming business and their stakeholders. We focus on identifying and resolving issues affecting profitability, protecting enterprise value and, where necessary, recovering value for stakeholders.

Our assignments vary from financially robust companies seeking to acquire underperforming competitors, to distressed businesses requiring an urgent solution. We offer solutions and advice in the following areas: Accelerated M&A, Financial restructuring, Fraud Insolvency Division, Independent business reviews and strategic performance reviews.

Within the Grant Thornton International organisation, there are over 50 member firms in key business centres authorised to undertake specialist recovery and reorganisation assignments. Firms share best practice and methodologies to meet the legal, commercial and cultural challenges that cross-border projects present.

Whether you are in Mexico, Boston, Bucharest or Beijing (and all points in-between), a team can be built to meet your sector and geographic requirements perfectly.

Salles Sainz - Grant Thornton, S.C. Periférico Sur 4348 Col. Jardines del Pedregal C.P.04500 México. D.F. Tel: +52 55 54 24 65 00 Fax: +52 55 54 24 65 01 Email: Mauro.gonzalez@mx.gt.com

Cabinet Seddik Experts Comptables Consultants185, Bd ZerktouniRésidence Zerktouni, 6ème étage, Casablanca 20100Morocco Tel: + 212 (52) 225 4000 Fax: +212 (52) 277 4357 Web: www.cabinetseddik.com

Houdeshell Advisors, LLC Creating Value for Business Owners™

Heritage Fund Services is a full service fund administrator with offices in Guernsey, the UK and Malta. It has particular expertise in the establishment and servicing of private equity, property, infrastructure, emerging markets and esoteric (forestry, shipping, litigation) funds.

Heritage provides full onshore and offshore administration services including accounting, corporate governance, company secretarial, compliance and administration, as well as experienced and knowledgeable directors for fund and fund related company boards.

Its typical clients are those who have similar values and ethics integral to the company, and those whose strategy it believes in. Size or status is not a crucial factor in the first instance, although Heritage does look for a sustainable business that will grow over time.

With offices onshore in the UK and the recent launch of its depositary business in the UK, and shortly in Malta, the Group is well positioned to accommodate investment managers wishing to be AIFMD compliant.

Heritage Group Limited PO Box 225, Heritage Hall, Le Marchant Street, St Peter Port, Guernsey, GY1 4HY. Tel: +44 (0) 1481 716000 Web: www.heritage.co.gg

www.acquisition-intl.com

We are a hands-on advisory practice creating value by developing and applying innovative solutions to critical strategic issues. Monty Houdeshell has successfully completed more than 70 M&A transactions. Business combinations or divestitures are complex events that require a disciplined process, meticulous planning and precise execution to be effective. Houdeshell Advisors can provide professional assistance to ensure a successful transaction, including development of an acquisition strategy, transaction support, and post-transaction integration planning and implementation.

Houdeshell Advisors, LLC P.O. Box 6426 Laguna Niguel, CA 92607 Tel: 949-233-2474 Fax: 855-233-2484 Email: info@houdeshelladvisors.com Web: www.houdeshelladvisors.com

Hyundai Heavy Industries Co., Ltd. (“HHI”) is a Fortune 500 company and an industry leader in shipbuilding, offshore and plant engineering and construction, as well as construction and power equipment manufacturing. HHI is the parent of the HHI Group, a multinational conglomerate with a global network of branch offices and more than forty overseas affiliates. HHI’s legal team is comprised of lawyers with diverse common and civil law qualifications and a dedicated legal staff who are collectively responsible for project negotiations; contract risk analysis, mitigation and management; international trade disputes; intellectual property litigation; international arbitration and litigation, mediation and expert determination.

HHI’s legal team is well-versed in dispute settlement practices in many jurisdictions and fora, including arbitration under all of the major institutional rules, and works closely with major international and regional law firms across Asia, Europe, the Americas and the Middle East to pro-actively manage potential and active disputes.

HYUNDAI HEAVY INDUSTRIES CO., LTD International Legal Department 1 Jeonha-dong, Dong-gu Ulsan, Korea 682-792 Tel: +82 52 202 0209 Fax: +82 52 202 9220

Isthmus Partners is based in Dubai, UAE. Our services include financial due diligence, business analysis, and financial strategy and modelling.

Our clients are SMEs and investors in SMEs at critical business junctures: new ventures, new management, ownership changes, restructuring or shift in strategy. We provide discrete services and work closely with our clients’ teams and consultants. Recent experience in real estate development, oil & gas services and security services.

Isthmus Partners Name: Javier Cervino, CFA Fairmont Hotel, Suite 712 Office 10, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 312 4908 Fax: +971 4 312 4909 Mob: +971 50 758 6599 Email: jcervino@isthmuspartners.ae Web: www.isthmuspartners.ae

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 67

Over the last 120 years, Ichino – Brugnatelli Law Firm has evolved from being the chamber of a locally renowned lawyer to become one of the most highly praised law firms by domestic and international clients.

Our attorneys-at-law have practiced litigation broadly for many years, even before the National Highest Courts and the European Court of Justice.

Thanks to our deep experience in all main industry sectors, we provide sound practical and legal advice on a full spectrum of issues, bargaining practices, unions and social security matters.

Clients can rely on the expertise and skills of our people to solve any legal problem and to obtain adequate guidance in decision making.

From every attorney, they can expect sound experience, outstanding legal reputation, and tailored response to their needs even in such complex processes as cross-border mergers and acquisitions.

Ichino-Brugnatelli e Associati Via Mascheroni, 31 20145 Milan Tel: +39 0248193249 +39 0248193228 Fax: +39 0248100102 Email: studio.legale@ichinobrugnatelli.it www.ichinobrugnatelli.it

We have an extensive domestic and international arbitration practice. We advise our clients on a wide range of complex, high-value arbitrations, involving both English and foreign law, around the world.

We advise across the full range of domestic and cross‑border arbitral proceedings including ICSID, LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, and SIAC arbitrations, as well as those conducted under the auspices of various trade associations or ad hoc arrangements. Our Hong Kong office handles arbitrations under the CIETAC Rules in Beijing.

We are regularly involved in advising on inter-dependent arbitration provisions and issues arising from cross‑border agreements, as well as the strategic implications of the deployment of arbitration and dispute resolution provisions.

Slaughter and May One Bunhill Row London EC1Y 8YY Tel: +44 (0)20 7600 1200 Fax: +44 (0)20 7090 5000

Kampala Associated Advocates employs over 25 staff, including 18 lawyers, making it one of the largest legal practices in Kampala.

The firm’s expertise in corporate and banking financial services, corporate restructuring, revenue and taxation, employment, commercial litigation and arbitration is virtually unrivalled and the firm is proud of its core values that it believes sets it apart from many of its competitors. These are: • • • • • •

A client focused approach Integrity and confidentiality Understanding every client’s needs A quality and professional service Breadth of experience Providing comprehensive full service

M&A transactions are fundamental to strengthen your market position and to support your long-term growth strategy. These transactions constitute a real creation of value and significant tax savings may be realized. Meticulous analysis of the jurisdictions involved is key. M&A tax planning should be carefully monitored. With a global understanding and deep local knowledge of tax jurisdictions, our experienced tax professionals can provide a full range of M&A tax services to corporate and private equity investors.

KPMG Luxembourg Giuliano Bidoli Director, M&A Tax Tel: +352 22 51 51 5528 Email: giuliano.bidoli@kpmg.lu www.kpmg.lu

Kampala Associated Advocates also enjoys access to a network of offices and associates in the US, Europe, Russia and Central Asia, the Middle East, Asia-Pacific and Africa, thanks to its global partnership with Dentons, one of the 25 largest legal service providers in the world, with lawyers and professionals in 49 locations and 33 countries.

With 18 offices in key financial centres across the world, the firm brings an understanding of the global legal issues its clients face to both transactional and dispute-related matters.

As a business, Winston & Strawn London LLP strives to: • • • •

Provide its clients with creative solutions to their business problems — on time and on budget Serve the community and the public interest Promote diversity within the firm and throughout the legal profession Maintain a culture of teamwork and collegiality

For enquiries regarding our transactional practice and how we might assist you, please contact: Zoe Ashcroft/Nicholas Usher/Stewart Worthy.

Winston & Strawn CityPoint, One Ropemaker Street London, EC2Y 9AW England Tel: +44 (0) 20 7011 8700 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7011 8800 Web: www.winston.com

After exploring all appropriate avenues of alternative dispute resolution (including mediation and expert-assistance in all their guises), we can conduct litigation and arbitration of disputes concerning construction and infrastructure, commercial contracts, employment, licence arrangements, IT projects and intellectual property.

We represent companies, financial institutions and governments worldwide.

Pinsent Masons LLP Level 8 The H Hotel, Office Tower (formerly known as The Monarch Office Tower) One Sheikh Zayed Road P.O. Box 115580 Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel: + 971 4 373 9700 Fax: + 971 4 373 9701

Kampala Associated Advocates Name: David Mpanga Address: Nakasero Rd, Kampala, Uganda Email: dmpanga@kaa.co.ug Tel: + 256 (0) 417 718106

For more than 160 years, Winston & Strawn London LLP has served as a trusted adviser and advocate for clients across virtually every industry.

In that time, through careful growth and fiscal management, the firm has built a law practice with tremendous breadth and a global reach. The firm is rightly proud of the many accolades it has received over the years - a tribute to its lawyers’ creativity, flexibility, depth of experience and commitment.

The Gulf marketplace offers opportunity and risk in equal measure. The political, regulatory and commercial environment is complex and highly charged. In such an environment, some disputes are inevitable. We can help you with tactics for dispute resolution as well as the obtaining and preservation of evidence and analysis of routes to enforcement

Many successful people have to assert or defend their legal rights at some time in their lives. Obviously winning is key but keeping the day to day disruption to a minimum is also a consideration.

Our dispute resolution team understands that full scale litigation may not always be the best solution. We therefore try in most instances to help our clients find alternative solutions that stop short of appearing in court or before arbitration panels. Mediation is one of the lynchpins of our work.

When full-scale litigation is required, we aim at all times to provide clients with the qualities they expect: technical excellence, clear tactical, result-oriented advice, lateral thinking, sympathy and objectivity. But most important is ensuring our clients know that when things get tough we will support them all the way. withersworldwide Greenwich CT office 660 Steamboat Road, Greenwich, CT 06830, USA Tel: +1 203 302 4100

YazıcıLegal has significant experience in M&A transactions and has been involved in many major M&A transactions and privatizations in Turkey, providing top-notch legal advices to its clients.

The scope of the services YazıcıLegal provides in M&A transactions include structuring of transactions, conducting legal due diligence, drafting and negotiating the transaction documents and dealing with related competition, capital markets and other regulatory compliance matters, as well as the obtaining of relevant regulatory approvals.

On top of its strong expertise in M&A transactions in the financial sector by advising on the M&A transactions of the leading Turkish banks and insurance companies such as Garanti, Finansbank, Denizbank, Millenium Bank, Garanti Sigorta, Garanti Emeklilik and Yapı Kredi Sigorta, YazıcıLegal has recently represented either sellers or buyers in M&A transactions from a wide range of sectors, including energy, infrastructure, retailing, steel, movie theaters, confectionery and financial leasing services.

YazıcıLegal Law Office Levent Mahallesi Yasemin Sokak No 13 34340 Levent - Beşiktaş Istanbul / TURKEY Tel: + 90 (212) 269 02 27 Fax: + 90 (212) 269 02 28 Email: info@yazicilegal.com

www.acquisition-intl.com

68 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Funds

Aerion was originally the pensions investment department of British Gas, responsible for managing the in-house defined benefit pension scheme. It has successfully maintained this role through the various mergers and demergers of the sponsoring company to become the manager of the National Grid UK Pension Scheme.

Aerion manages a balanced fund, diversified to provide long-term growth and to meet pension payments as they fall due. Aerion strives to improve continuously the services it delivers to the trustees, bringing innovation and expertise.

Aerion Fund Management Limited Chancery Exchange 10 Furnival Street London EC4A 1YH United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 20 7269 4900 Web: www.aerionfm.com

BMA is amongst the leading financial groups in Pakistan. BMA Capital’s core areas of business include Equity Markets, Treasury Markets, Corporate Finance & Advisory, Research, and Retail Brokerage. A leading advisor to the privatisation committee in Pakistan, BMA Capital has successfully advised on over 50% of all privatisations in the country, exceeding US$4 billion in value.

Recent transactions include co-managing the $813 million GDR Offering of 10% of OGDCL on the London Stock Exchange in 2006-07, and advising Etisalat on their successful acquisition of a 26% strategic stake in Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited (PTCL) for US$2.6 billion, the largest M&A transaction and foreign direct investment in Pakistan ‘s history. The firm is among the top brokers in Pakistan’s equity and treasury markets, and is one of a handful of firms that comprehensively cover all segments of capital markets. This is supported by a very strong and independent research capability, with extensive coverage in both local and international media.

BMA Capital’s retail brokerage brand, BMA Trade, has a nationwide network of branches as well as a comprehensive online trading platform, enabling investors across Pakistan to take part in the capital markets.

BMA Asset Management Company Limited 804 Unitower, I. I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi, Pakistan UAN: +92 21 111 262 111 Email: info@bmafunds.com Web: www.bmafunds.com/index.asp

www.acquisition-intl.com

Atlas Capital Advisors, LLC is an independent, fee-only investment advisor firm dedicated to providing unbiased advice to our clients. Our specialty is the design and management of sophisticated, tax-sensitive portfolios for individuals and institutional investors. We seek to produce desirable returns while minimizing costs through proven investment strategies that include separate equity and fixed income securities.

At Atlas Capital Advisors, we believe that there are too many intermediaries in the financial services industry adding to fees but not adding value to clients. Our goal is to maximize wealth enhancement opportunities for our clients while minimizing risk. We employ an investment process that yields transparent, tax efficient, diversified portfolios that optimize the risk and reward trade off while minimizing transaction cost.

Atlas Capital Advisors LLC 38 Keyes Ave Suite 200, The Presidio San Francisco, CA 94129 Tel: 415 354 2400 Fax: 415 223 3480 Web: www.atlasca.com

BNP Paribas Mutual Fund BNP Paribas Mutual Fund is part of a global network seeking to combine in-depth local market knowledge with the expertise gained from managing investments throughout numerous market cycles and conditions across the world.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners BNP Paribas Investment Partners is the dedicated asset management business line of BNP Paribas and backed up by the financial strength of one of the best rated banks1 in the world.

BNP Paribas Investment Partners manages and advises assets of over EUR 478 bn across 40 countries with significant presence in Europe, Asia and the Americas. It is Europe’s 6th largest asset manager and among the leading asset managers in the world2 offering one of the widest range of investment solutions in the industry.

Around 700 investment professionals work across the network of some 60 investment centres, each of which is a specialist in a particular asset class or type of product.

BNP Paribas Asset Management India Private Limited BNP Paribas House, 1 North Avenue, Maker Maxity, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra (East), Mumbai - 400 051, India.

Email: customer.care@bnpparibasmf.in Web: www.bnpparibasmf.in

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) is a multi-expert asset management company within the AXA Group, a global leader in financial protection and wealth management. We are one of the largest European-based asset managers with €547 billion in assets under management as at 31.12.13. In a challenging environment, our ability to offer clients a comprehensive range of investment solutions spanning all asset classes, as well as the talent of our fund managers enabled AXA IM to thrive.

In an environment of increasing regulation, AXA IM has continued to leverage its experience of working with the AXA Group to provide institutional investors with new and often bespoke solutions.

AXA IM’s detailed knowledge of bank balance sheets, combined with the excellence of the credit analysis teams, has also enabled AXA IM to develop innovative initiatives with regard to loans, thereby turning the disintermediation of the bank industry into an opportunity for clients.

With effect from 14th July, 2011,Benchmark Asset Management Company (BAMC) is a part of the Goldman Sachs group. BAMC is an asset management company in India with a primary focus on indexing and using quantitative techniques in creating innovative products. BAMC is run and co-promoted by professionals with a long experience in the Indian and International Financial Markets.

Benchmark Asset Management Company (BAMC) Goldman Sachs Asset Management (India) Private Limited 951-A, Rational House, Appasaheb Marathe Marg, Prabhadevi, Mumbai 400 025 Tel: 1800-266-1220 Fax: 91 22 6627 9245 Web: www.benchmarkfunds.com

AXA Investment Managers (AXA IM) www.axa-im.com/en

Carnegie’s mission is to put money to work. We are independent in order to guarantee optimal research and advice. We create added value for institutions, corporations and private individuals.

Our aim is to be the leading financial advisor in the Nordic region. Carnegie operates in eight countries and has approximately 600 employees.

Carnegie, founded as a trading house by David Carnegie in 1803, is one of the Nordic region’s oldest trademarks. The company comprised a variety of operations and the streamlining towards financial services was initiated with the formation of the investment bank Bankirfirman Langeskiöld in 1932.

Carnegie Kapitalforvaltning AS Web: www.carnegieam.no

The Charles Schwab Corporation is a leading investment services firm with a 40-year history of innovating and advocating for individual investors and the financial professionals who serve them.

Charles Schwab focuses on the needs of individual investors, whether we’re serving them directly, through an employer-sponsored retirement or equity plan, or through independent investment advisors.

Seeing through clients’ eyes has always been the Schwab way. Today, approximately 14,000 employees share a passion for helping millions of investors achieve their financial goals. By working together and listening thoughtfully to our clients, we’ve been able to make investing more accessible, affordable and understandable.

The Charles Schwab Corporation 211 Main Street San Francisco, CA 94105 Tel: (415) 667-7000 Web: www.aboutschwab.com

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 69

While many financial institutions try to provide many disparate services, we believe that having a tireless focus is the right strategy. Our focus is to efficiently explore the potential of natural capital in order to offer investors alternative investment opportunities, combining consistent returns over the long term and a clear positive impact upon society and the environment.

Global Forestry Capital has developed, initiated, distributed and managed yield-oriented and tax optimized investments in the alternative investments sector for specific categories of investors.

We constantly think about our clients and how we can better serve and respond to their changing needs while having a positive impact on society and the environment.

At Global Forestry Capital our intelligent management solutions are designed to work with a wide array of institutions, corporations, public funds and high-net-worth individuals. As the demand for market neutral alternative funds continues to increase, so does our product portfolio.

Global Forestry Capital specializes in open-ended investment funds and related private equity fund opportunities.

We are a specialist asset manager focused on designing innovative investment solutions to meet the needs of our clients: pension funds, insurers, sovereign wealth funds, wealth managers, financial institutions and private individuals.

We’re a leading global asset manager, responsible for over £273.3 bn* in assets under management across liability driven investment, currency management, fixed income, absolute return, multi-asset and specialist investment strategies.

It is our experience that solutions are usually designed to suit a manager’s business model rather than the client’s actual needs. At Insight we believe that understanding our clients and finding solutions to meet their specific needs is not just the right thing for our clients, but also for our business.

Insight Investment 160 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4LA Tel: +44(0)20 7163 4000 Email: moreinsight@insightinvestment.com Web: www.insightinvestment.com

With approximately 900 advisers in 40 countries around the world, our scale, reach and local knowledge is focused on supporting clients wherever they need us.

An unparalleled network of global knowledge is at the heart of our business. We use our collective intellectual capital, specialist sector and product expertise, and wealth of experience to deliver the best long-term solutions for our clients.

Having advised on more deals than any other adviser in our core markets, we have an unrivalled track record of advising clients on mergers, acquisitions and disposals, strategy, and corporate governance. We are also the market leader in providing independent advice on debt and equity financing, and on how to restructure a business.

Rothschild’s Global Financial Advisory 1101 Connecticut Avenue NW Seventh floor Washington DC USA 20036 Tel: +1 202 862 1660 Fax: +1 202 862 1699 Web: www.rothschild.com/contactus

Madison and its subsidiaries manage client assets in actively managed portfolios including: l l l l

domestic, international and global equity portfolios fixed income portfolios asset allocation portfolios covered call portfolios

North Street Global Fund Services – is an alternative asset fund administration firm. We offer a wide range of services at competitive prices for funds of any size or structure. We work with clients in various stages of their business life cycles. Whether you are a start-up fund or a well-established fund we can add value at any point providing fund administration services or our all-inclusive “Fund Launch” package, and technology and reporting solutions. North Street client assets under administration include level 1, 2 and 3 securities from equities to structured products and we serve; hedge funds, private equity funds and fund of funds.

708 Third Avenue 6th Floor New York, New York 10017 Tel: 212.203.4671 North Street Global Fund Services Web: www.northstreetfundservices.com

Madison Investment Holdings, Inc. 550 Science Drive, Madison, WI 53711 Tel: 800-767-0300 Web: www.madisonadv.com

Global Forestry Capital Address: 9, Rue Sainte Zithe, 4th Floor, L-2763 Luxembourg-City, Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg Tel: +352.248.799.20 Web: www.globalforestry.com

Rothschild’s Global Financial Advisory business is a world leader in the provision of impartial, expert advice and execution services to governments, corporations, institutions and individuals.

Since 1974, managing our clients’ assets has been our sole focus. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, we’ve earned a national reputation for our risk-sensitive investment philosophy and our active bond and equity strategies. The clients of our firm and its affiliates, who entrust us with more than $15 billion of their assets as of December 30, 2013, include hospitals, foundations, endowments, religious organizations, corporations, municipalities, unions, financial institutions and insurance companies. We also serve a wide range of individual investors through mutual funds, managed accounts and private portfolios. All portfolios are managed using our philosophy of “Participate and Protect®” to manage risk by participating in markets when we perceive risk is low and protecting capital when we perceive risk is high.

Schroders plc is a public company, one of the 100 largest companies listed on the London Stock Exchange (SDR). We are a firm with a 200-year legacy and a proud tradition of excellence - in products as well as service.

We are a global asset management firm with investment and client service professionals in dozens of local markets worldwide. By leveraging these local resources, we can deliver domestic as well as international strategies, and a range of asset management services, to any client in any region.

In North America, Schroders offers a range of equity, fixed income, and alternative investment products. Our primary clients include: l l l l l

Public and private pension plans Endowments and foundations Family offices Financial intermediaries and advisors Individual investors

Schroder Investment Management North America Inc. 875 Third Avenue, 22nd Floor New York, NY 10022- 6225 United States of America Tel: +1 212 641 3830 Web: www.schroders.com/us

Seix does one thing and does it well: Managing fixed income investments Founded in 1992, Seix maintains its focus on providing fixed income strategies for institutional investors around the globe.

Clearly defined investment style Seix employs a clearly defined investment style and philosophy, utilizing a fundamental approach that is bottom-up focused and top-down aware.

Our team of seasoned fixed income portfolio managers executes the process with the support of a team of career analysts.

Headquartered in Zurich and Basel, UBS is a global firm providing financial services to private, corporate and institutional clients.

UBS is present in all major financial centers and has offices in over 50 countries.

UBS employs approximately 60,000 people around the world.

UBS’s historical roots stretch back more than a century.

UBS Web: www.ubs.com/global

We are big enough to matter but small enough to remain nimble in each of the investable fixed income sectors. This crucial combination has helped Seix generate highly competitive absolute, relative and risk-adjusted returns over multiple market cycles.

Institutional clientele Our primary focus is managing fixed income assets for institutional clientele. The organization’s efforts and resources are devoted to this crucial asset class and this important investor type.

Seix Investment Advisors LLC 10 Mountainview Road, C-200 Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458, USA Tel: +1 201 391 0300 Fax: +1 201 391 5023 Web: www.seixadvisors.com

www.acquisition-intl.com

70 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Dispute Resolution

Competition Litigation remains one of Addleshaw Goddard’s real strengths. We have one of the largest competition teams in the UK, which include over 20 specialists including a solicitor advocate.

We also have an accredited and trained mediator.

With expertise across the full range of competition issues, we have particular experience and an enviable track record in relation to all aspects of Competition Litigation. For decades, our partners have been actively litigating competition law disputes - breaking government sanctioned restrictive practices; defending companies implicated in cartels; and recovering £multi-million damages for those harmed by anti-competitive conduct. Our partners have conducted competition damages actions before the High Court, the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT) and in mediations.

Dispute resolution lawyers throughout our international network represent global businesses on litigation, arbitration, mediation and regulatory matters.

We also have broad experience in corporate risk management and conflict management, advising senior level board members and executives of substantial corporates and banks.

We provide a comprehensive service in most of the world’s major countries and have dealt with many of the problems generated by changes in the financial marketplace. Our global network includes many experienced former prosecutors, enabling us to represent clients effectively in the most difficult and sophisticated government investigations.

Addleshaw Goddard LLP 100 Barbirolli Square Manchester M2 3AB United Kingdom DX 14301 Manchester Tel: +44 (0)161 934 6000 Fax: +44 (0)161 934 6060

We actively pursue all avenues of dispute resolution available and advise clients on choosing the method most appropriate to them. Our main priority is to resolve disputes quickly and effectively with as little disruption to business as possible – recognition of this is central to how we approach any matter.

Recognized as one of the top litigation groups in the world, Cleary Gottlieb provides clients with creative and result-oriented litigation and arbitration counsel in matters ranging from major commercial disputes to sensitive internal, regulatory or criminal investigations. As a firm with established roots and experience worldwide, we handle local matters as well as multijurisdictional disputes. We are equally at home representing an African sovereign in an International Chamber of Commerce arbitration as we are defending a leading financial institution in U.S., UK, French, German or Italian courts.

Our global network provides an exceptional platform for handling major cross-border disputes and in recent years we have helped our clients to achieve success in some of the most complex international disputes and investigations.

Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP 12, rue de Tilsitt 75008 Paris Tel: +33 1 40 74 68 00 Fax:: +33 1 40 74 68 88

Ashurst’s clients benefit from the firm’s wide experience of resolving disputes in many business sectors, our expertise in the dispute resolution process and our unwavering focus on our clients’ business needs.

Our lawyers are experts in the conduct of litigation, arbitration and alternative dispute resolution.

We work with some of the world’s leading organisations to resolve their complex, high profile, commercial disputes.

We take a strategic approach to dispute resolution. We focus on the issues that matter to clients and how the dispute resolution process can be managed to deliver the optimum result for the client.

Ashurst Broadwalk House 5 Appold Street London EC2A 2HA UK Tel: +44 (0)20 7638 1111 Fax: +44 (0)20 7638 1112

Allen & Overy LLP Apollolaan 15 1077 AB Amsterdam PO Box 75440 Amsterdam 1070 AK Netherlands Tel: +31 20 674 1000

We offer a seamless, integrated service across our network of offices for cross-border disputes and investigations, with expertise in individual jurisdictions but also an understanding of the interplay between different legal systems and regulations.

Clifford Chance’s global Litigation & Dispute Resolution practice has around 500 lawyers based in the UK, Continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific and the United States.

Clifford Chance 10 Upper Bank St, City of London, Greater London E14 5JJ Tel: 020 7006 1000

Business today can be a risky endeavour. You may find yourself confronted by a commercial or corporate dispute, whether it be a falling out with a joint venture partner, a shareholder who claims the company is being run in a manner prejudicial to its interests, a supplier who will not fulfil its obligations under a contract or a warranty/indemnity claim following a merger or acquisition.

Our commercial litigation team has the knowledge, skill set and experience to help you deal with the challenges posed by the full range of commercial and corporate disputes. Our disputes resolution experience makes us ideally placed to advise you on contractual and risk management issues that your business may be facing. We have a proven track record of providing practical and commercial advice to a wide range of clients at all stages of the dispute relation process from drafting dispute resolution clauses during pre-contractual negotiations, through to obtaining emergency injunctions in situations where assets may be at risk, to litigating complex multi-jurisdictional disputes and enforcing judgements and recovering assets.

CMS Cameron McKenna Mitre House 160 Aldersgate Street London EC1A 4DD Tel: +44 (0)20 7367 3000 Fax: +44 (0)20 7367 2000

www.acquisition-intl.com

Our team of commercial dispute resolution lawyers includes a broad mix of litigators experienced in project managing large commercial disputes, across a wide variety of industry sectors and in a range of commercial businesses. We are able to offer clear and concise advice on a full range of issues from contractual disputes and joint venture agreements to professional negligence claims, fraud and privacy and defamation actions.

At BLP, we consistently strive to develop innovative solutions for our clients. From the outset we, when appropriate, provide our clients with a cost effective advocacy capability utilising our barristers and team of 21 solicitor advocates, in order to advise clients from the receipt of instruction through to trial, working together to agree strategy and tactics, prepare the case and finally present in court. When external barristers are preferred or desired, we have extremely good relationships with leading Counsel throughout the London Chambers.

Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP London, Adelaide House Adelaide House London Bridge London United Kingdom EC4R 9HA Tel: +44 (0)20 3400 1000

Globalization of world markets has brought limitless commercial opportunities. However, it has also increased the potential for legal liability by exposing corporations around the world to financial and reputational risk across multiple jurisdictions.

Mitigation of those risks requires early engagement with experienced lawyers who understand the cultural as well as the legal and regulatory landscapes but who will also drive relentlessly to deliver results for their clients when a dispute or regulatory intervention is unavoidable.

DLA Piper’s global team of more than 1,400 disputes and regulatory lawyers is the largest dedicated disputes practice globally. We have the local knowledge to apply the regulatory, economic, political and cultural context to legal issues and develop case strategies. We regularly handle technically challenging and complex multi-jurisdictional matters. Our global reach allows us to provide you with fully integrated teams and consistent quality wherever you do business.

In an environment where regulation and its enforcement will only increase, we recognize that effective compliance and avoidance of regulatory intervention are business critical issues.

DLA Piper UK LLP 3 Noble Street London EC2V 7EE United Kingdom Tel: +44 (0) 8700 111 111 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7796 6666

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Jones Day’s Global Disputes Practice offers clients a comprehensive international footprint with lawyers qualified before jurisdictions throughout the worldwww.jonesdayconstruction.com and prepared for any dispute, from jury trials before domestic courts to international arbitration, from complex commercial litigation cases to criminal or administrative proceedings. Our lawyers deliver deep legal and industry experience, and our track record contributes to our impressive reputation for successful dispute resolution wherever disputes arise.

Jones Day 222 East 41st Street New York, New York 10017-6702 Tel: +1.212.326.3939 Fax: +1.212.755.7306

The lawyers in our Commercial Litigation practice have represented clients in virtually every type of business and commercial dispute. Our practice is built on the experience and skill of our trial lawyers. We have represented our clients in jury and bench trials across the Americas, Europe and Asia. We have handled dozens of commercial arbitrations and administrative hearings. Our lawyers take pride in their ability to move quickly and mobilize a team at a moment’s notice to handle emergency litigation, whether it be a TRO, a preliminary injunction or an emergency appeal. We have the ability to assemble teams that include lawyers from across the world with extensive experience in their local courts. And no other firm can offer a litigation practice that is so strongly supported at every step by the lawyers of our nationally renowned appellate practice and a group that specializes in e-discovery.

Mayer Brown International LLP 350 South Grand Avenue 25th Floor Los Angeles, CA 90071-1503 United States of America Tel: +1 213 229 9500 Fax: +1 213 625 0248

Litigation and dispute resolution clients come to King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin to solve their business critical disputes quickly and efficiently.

An essential part of our approach to understanding their commercial drivers is listening. It means when we apply our expertise in court, in arbitration and across jurisdictions, the outcome is a win for the business. It makes us strategic problem solvers too. A truly international practice with centres of excellence in UK, Dubai, Germany, France, Spain and Italy, we are able to advise our clients in achieving the best outcome possible: resolving issues and minimising future disputes.

King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1BE England Tel: +44 (0)20 7111 2222 Fax: +44 (0)20 7111 2000

We advise many of the world’s largest corporations and financial institutions on complex, high-value and sensitive multi-jurisdictional disputes. Our team of dispute resolution lawyers in London provides an integrated and high quality service to all our clients.

With experience in managing multi-jurisdictional litigation and international arbitration across all industry sectors, our lawyers both prevent and resolve disputes by giving practical, creative advice that focuses on our clients’ strategic objectives. We have particular strength in financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare.

We recognise that each dispute is governed by a unique set of variables, sensitivities and, most importantly, commercial factors.

Norton Rose Fulbright LLP 3 More London Riverside London SE1 2AQ United Kingdom

Kirkland & Ellis is renowned for its experience in complex litigation and arbitration. The Firm believes that the best litigation results — whether achieved in court or across the bargaining table — occur where the lawyers and client act on the assumption that Kirkland will try the case. Kirkland’s trial-oriented approach is possible because the Firm has a deep bench of senior trial lawyers and an uncommon commitment to training its young lawyers.

Kirkland & Ellis LLP 333 South Hope Street Los Angeles, CA 90071 United States Tel: +1 213-680-8400 Fax: +1 213-680-8500

Linklaters’ dispute resolution lawyers throughout the world have a reputation for succeeding in the most sensitive and complex litigation and arbitration cases.

The firm’s primary aim is to help clients, mainly leading multinationals and financial institutions, to avoid litigation wherever possible. When litigation is unavoidable, Linklaters focuses on the commercial objectives of clients, while assessing legal, commercial and reputational risk. The team analyses the negotiating weaknesses of opponents and devises optimum procedural tactics or creative settlement approaches.

Linklaters’ dispute resolution lawyers are as familiar with arbitration under all rules as with litigation. They settle disputes for clients in the most appropriate manner, whether by mediation, adjudication or expert determination.

Linklaters LLP One Silk Street London EC2Y 8HQ Tel: (44 20) 7456 2000 Fax: (44 20) 7456 2222

Simmons & Simmons’ international financial markets litigation group focuses exclusively on contentious work for financial institutions. Members of the group work alongside our noncontentious and transactional financial markets lawyers and have constant exposure to the business of financial institutions. As a result, they are not only first class contentious lawyers but have a real understanding of the financial markets and the needs of financial institutions.

Our practice reflects the firm’s non-contentious financial markets practice. We therefore work mainly on high value, complex matters for investment banks, clearing banks, investment and fund managers, securities houses, commodities and futures brokers and dealers, general insurance and life assurance companies and other financial institutions operating in the international financial markets.

Simmons & Simmons CityPoint One Ropemaker Street London EC2Y 9SS United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 7628 2020 Fax: +44 20 7628 2070

Our first class litigation and dispute resolution skills, coupled with our leading-edge competition law expertise, enable us to handle complex competition litigation matters. Our Competition Litigation group of cross-disciplinary specialists comprises lawyers from our Competition and Dispute Resolution practices. It is made up of eight partners and an adviser on regulated industries, Christopher Wright.

Together, we have extensive experience in appeals against decisions of competition and regulatory authorities. We act in competition litigation before English and other national courts, the General Court and the Court of Justice.

We are at the cutting edge of the current increase in private actions, acting in ground-breaking competition litigation before the English and European Courts. We also coordinate cross-border antitrust litigation strategies with the practices of our ‘Best Friends’ in other major jurisdictions.

Slaughter and May Square de Meeûs 40 1000 Brussels Belgium Tel: +32 (0)2 737 94 00 Fax: +32 (0)2 737 94 01

www.acquisition-intl.com

72 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Dispute Resolution

In today’s global marketplace, disputes are growing in number and complexity. Businesses are facing intense competition and must manage the risks and challenges in doing business locally and internationally. Higher accountability standards and tighter regulatory scrutiny increase exposure and vulnerability. We are uniquely positioned to help you navigate these complexities with confidence, while achieving your strategic and commercial objectives.

At Baker & McKenzie, you have access to one of the largest and most recommended Dispute Resolution practices in the world. Our practice includes more than 750 locally qualified practitioners, including many lawyers recognized as leaders in dispute resolution. Chambers Global ranks our practice in 32 countries/regions and we are also recognized as a leading firm in the area of cross-border disputes and international arbitration.

Baker & McKenzie LLP Hutchison House 14th Floor, Hutchison House 10 Harcourt Road, Central Hong Kong SAR

A significant focus of Cravath’s litigation practice is representing and advising international clients.

We practice only U.S. law, which means that our litigation activities are focused on actual and potential litigation in U.S. courts and arbitrations conducted throughout the world. From our New York and London offices, we are routinely called upon to represent non‑U.S. companies in many of the largest and most complex trials and appeals in federal and state courts, in domestic and international arbitrations (including ICC, LCIA, AAA and private arbitrations), before administrative agencies and regulatory authorities and in virtually every other type of proceeding, including internal investigations.

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP Worldwide Plaza 825 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10019‑7475 Tel: +1‑212‑474‑1000 Fax: +1‑212‑474‑3700

For over three decades Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has maintained one of the world’s foremost international arbitration practices. We have two of the top-eleven leading international arbitration individuals in Chambers Global 2013, and a total of ten partners ranked among the top lawyers in various guides. Our lawyers handle a wide range of the most challenging disputes and lead professional organizations dedicated to arbitration.

At Debevoise, we pride ourselves not only on our victories for clients, but also on our continued devotion to improving arbitration practice. For example, in 2010 Debevoise issued a Protocol to Promote Efficiency in International Arbitration, which identifies 25 specific procedures intended to make arbitration more efficient. No other law firm has made such a public and specific commitment to promoting efficiency on behalf of our clients.

Rooted in our proud and distinguished history, yet embracing innovative ideas and practices, Debevoise continuously endeavors to establish the benchmark for international arbitration.

Debevoise & Plimpton LLP 919 Third Avenue New York, NY 10022

One Pacific Place 23rd Floor, One Pacific Place 88 Queensway Hong Kong SAR China Tel: +852 2846 1888 Fax: +852 2845 0476

Grant Thornton’s Expert Determination services are led by specialists with considerable experience of acting as the independent expert to resolve disputes. Our experience is augmented by regularly working with legal and financial advisers and with corporates directly, both in pre-deal due diligence and post transaction in the event of dispute. Our team has a broad range of hands-on experience across numerous sectors supplemented by industry specialists who bring insight and in-depth sector expertise.

Grant Thornton UK LLP Nick Andrews Partner, Forensic and Investigation Services Tel: +44 20 7383 5100 Email: nick.d.andrews@uk.gt.com Web: www.grant-thornton.co.uk

www.acquisition-intl.com

Frequently, business sale and purchase agreements contain a mechanism for adjusting the “headline” price or value obtained, commonly through Completion or Earn-Out Accounts. However, these clauses often lead to a dispute.

To maximise chances to improve the final position, preparation for a potential dispute over such a price-adjustment mechanism needs to start early. In the earlier phases of a transaction much ground can be lost through inexperience and it becomes increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to recover that ground at a later stage.

Our dispute professionals have extensive experience of such dispute situations, whether advising a party to the deal or acting as the Independent Accountant. We have acted in many different industries covering all sizes of dispute, from those involving a single item through to large multinational deals with over 100 separate items in dispute.

What we do When acting as the Independent Determining Accountant, our goal is to provide an efficient, effective, properly justified and objective determination of the matters in dispute.

Deloitte 2 New Street Square London EC4A 3BZ United Kingdom Tel: +44 20 7936 3000 Fax: +44 20 7583 1198

Expert determination is founded in contract.

An independent third party will act as an expert rather than judge or arbitrator, and is appointed by the parties to decide the dispute privately.

There is no right of appeal and the expert’s determination is final and binding on the parties save usually in the case of fraud or manifest error.

Parties will make written and oral submissions to the expert and he or she will then give a binding decision on the case. It is particularly used in disputes concerning valuation (for example rent reviews, share valuations or price adjustments) or technical disputes across a range of sectors (for example IT, accountancy, supply contracts, oil and gas).

Herbert Smith Freehills LLP Exchange House Primrose Street London EC2A 2EG London office DX: 28 Tel: +44 20 7374 8000 Fax: +44 20 7374 0888

We assist our clients in drafting sophisticated dispute resolution agreements, and offer insight into the selection of institutions used for arbitration, and understanding of the differing procedures used. We have real experience of the major international arbitral and many of the domestic, and not so well-known institutions.

We also advise our clients on the use and abuse (avoidance) of procedures used in international arbitration.

Our experience spans many different business sectors including: Technology; Film and Media; Telecommunications; Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences; Energy; Banking and Financial Services; Commodities; Sport, Leisure and Gaming; and Construction and Engineering.

Olswang LLP 90 High Holborn London WC1V 6XX DX 37972 KINGSWAY Tel: +44 (0) 20 7067 3000 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7067 3999

The Gulf marketplace offers opportunity and risk in equal measure. The political, regulatory and commercial environment is complex and highly charged. In such an environment, some disputes are inevitable. We can help you with tactics for dispute resolution as well as the obtaining and preservation of evidence and analysis of routes to enforcement After exploring all appropriate avenues of alternative dispute resolution (including mediation and expert-assistance in all their guises), we can conduct litigation and arbitration of disputes concerning construction and infrastructure, commercial contracts, employment, licence arrangements, IT projects and intellectual property.

We represent companies, financial institutions and governments worldwide.

Pinsent Masons LLP Level 8 The H Hotel, Office Tower (formerly known as The Monarch Office Tower) One Sheikh Zayed Road P.O. Box 115580 Dubai United Arab Emirates Tel: + 971 4 373 9700 Fax: + 971 4 373 9701

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 73

BUSINESS EXCELLENCE 1 0 0

We have an extensive domestic and international arbitration practice. We advise our clients on a wide range of complex, high-value arbitrations, involving both English and foreign law, around the world.

We advise across the full range of domestic and cross‑border arbitral proceedings including ICSID, LCIA, ICC, UNCITRAL, Stockholm Chamber of Commerce, and SIAC arbitrations, as well as those conducted under the auspices of various trade associations or ad hoc arrangements. Our Hong Kong office handles arbitrations under the CIETAC Rules in Beijing.

We are regularly involved in advising on inter-dependent arbitration provisions and issues arising from cross‑border agreements, as well as the strategic implications of the deployment of arbitration and dispute resolution provisions.

Vinson & Elkins’ Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) practice group includes lawyers throughout the firm who serve as both advocates and third-party neutrals in claim and litigation matters. The group also provides advice and counseling to clients and other firm lawyers with respect to negotiating strategies, effective and efficient uses of ADR, the selection of third-party neutrals, the consideration of appropriate ADR procedures for particular controversies, and the drafting of private ADR clauses and agreements.

Many successful people have to assert or defend their legal rights at some time in their lives. Obviously winning is key but keeping the day to day disruption to a minimum is also a consideration.

Vinson & Elkins RLLP 1001 Fannin Street Suite 2500 Houston, TX 77002-6760 Tel: +1.713.758.1109 Fax: +1.713.615.5607 Email: glipe@velaw.com

When full-scale litigation is required, we aim at all times to provide clients with the qualities they expect: technical excellence, clear tactical, result-oriented advice, lateral thinking, sympathy and objectivity. But most important is ensuring our clients know that when things get tough we will support them all the way.

Slaughter and May One Bunhill Row London EC1Y 8YY Tel: +44 (0)20 7600 1200 Fax: +44 (0)20 7090 5000

Our dispute resolution team understands that full scale litigation may not always be the best solution. We therefore try in most instances to help our clients find alternative solutions that stop short of appearing in court or before arbitration panels. Mediation is one of the lynchpins of our work.

withersworldwide Greenwich CT office 660 Steamboat Road, Greenwich, CT 06830, USA Tel: +1 203 302 4100

C CloudOrigin

Strategy

Expert determination is a confidential and binding process that can offer an effective means of settling a technical issue or dispute. It is an impartial and flexible process. The expert is required to act fairly and give each party a reasonable opportunity to be heard and respond to the other party. The determination of the dispute will be by an independent person with expertise relevant to the dispute.

When a fast solution is needed, expert determination is often the quickest and most inexpensive way of resolving disputes – particularly where the facts are agreed. It is carried out in private, and therefore can be guaranteed to protect confidences and commercial sensitivity.

Expert determination is appropriate for technical or valuation issues. For example, an IT specialist may be appointed in an IT supply and installation contract to determine compliance with specifications or an accountant may be appointed as an expert in a business valuation dispute.

Wragge & Co Pinsent Masons LLP 30 Crown Place Earl Street London EC2A 4ES Tel: +44 (0) 20 7418 7000 Fax: +44 (0) 20 7418 7050

Advisory

Utility

CloudOrigin provides award winning Information Technology strategy, advisory and implementation services - including commercial, technical and operational due diligence - to Private Equity houses, Venture Capital firms and their portfolio companies.

From our London office we have worked on the largest global deals and transformation programmes alongside world leading accounting, legal and market research providers.

Specialists in the commercial impact of cloud computing and the evolution of software and infrastructure services, we will deliver clear analysis and pragmatic post-transaction recommendations whether IT is the core offering or simply a critical success factor.

We also build investment theses, identify M&A opportunities, alliances and go to market strategies in the converging worlds of digital brands, enterprise software, mobile apps and social networks.

We would be delighted to introduce our services and experience.

Call us on +44 (203) 642 5715 or email Info@CloudOrigin.com

London based

Cloud enabled

Global reach

(C) 2014 CloudOrigin Limited. All rights reserved. Registered in England 06893393

www.acquisition-intl.com

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 75

and the winners are...

Africa Azalai Hotels

No. 1 Hotel Chain of the Year - West Africa

Albania Keshilltar Ligjor & Lektor

Legal Advisers of the Year - Albania

Antigua & Barbuda Antigua and Barbuda Investment Authority The Labour Department Argentina Enterpricing Ernst & Young Lauritsen & Asociados Lauritsen & Asociados ZOTT Armenia Arsarqtekh LLC Big Energo LLC Australia Allied Business Accountants

UNIQA Vienna Capital Partners

Investment Promotion Agency of the Year - Antigua & Barbuda Launch of the Year - Tourism And Health Programme - Antigua & Barbuda Tax Consultancy of the Year - Argentina Transfer Pricing Adviser of the Year - Argentina Trademark Lawyers of the Year - Argentina IP Law Firm of the Year - Argentina Global Promotional Developments enterprise of the Year Professional Management Service Provider of the Year - Armenia Mining Business Excellence Award - Armenia

Wolf Minerals Zen Capital Management Pty Ltd

Emerging Financial Services Company of the Year - Australia Most Outstanding Global Investment Management Firm of the Year - Australia Financial Services Management Team of the Year - Australia Finance Team of the Year - Australia IT Excellence in Innovation Award - Australia Commitment to Financial Services - Australia Restaurant Chain of the Year - Australia Energy CFO of the Year - Australia Excellence in Therapeutic Innovative - Australia Business Lawyer of the Year - Australia Coal Producer of the Year - Australia Strategic Performance System of the Year - Australia Consumer Business Excellence Award - Australia Deal of the Year - Dayco acquisition of Precision Parts Pty Ltd - Australia IT Customer Service Team of the Year - Australia Leading Consumer Service Provider of the Year - Australia Fund Manager of the Year - Australia Mining Business Excellence Award - Australia Mining Management Team of the Year - Australia IT Services Provider of the Year - Australia Consumer Deal of the Year - Four Seasons Fine Wines merger with Vignerons of the World - Australia Excellence in Immigration Law - Australia Leisure Business Excellence Award - Australia Most Outstanding Brand of the Year - Australia Community Services Team of the Year - Australia Resources CEO of the Year - Australia Most Iconic Brand -of the Year - Australia IT Company of the Year - Australia Manufacturing Management Team of the Year - Australia Real Estate Management Team of the Year - Australia Maritime & Cargo Services Provider of the Year - Australia Healthcare CFO of the Year - Australia Metals & Minerals CFO of the Year - Australia Mining Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award - Australia Media COO of the Year - Australia Leading Digital Media Company of the Year - Australia Acquisition Strategy of the Year - Australia Banking CEO of the Year - Australia Energy Fast-Growth Business of the Year - Australia Australian CFO of the Year Leading Bill Payment Services System of the Year - Australia Private Equity Investment Manager of the Year - Australia Mining CEO of the Year - Australia Investment Adviser of the Year - Australia

Austria bpv Hgel Rechtsanwlte OG Immofinanz AG

Corporate Law Firm of the Year - Austria Real Estate Company of the Year - Austria

AMP Capital Analytics Group Analytics Group Applaps ASX Beach Burrito Company Carnegie Wave Energy Cellmid Clarendon Lawyers Conticoal Corporate Score Card David Jones Dayco Products Dicker Data Eat Now Ecofin Australia Pty Ltd. Elemental Minerals Limited Elysium Resources Empired Four Seasons Fine Wines Fragomen Fringe of the Desert Tours GHD Health SA Central Adelaide Local Health Network Herencia Resources Hills Limited IBM Australia & New Zealand Pact Group Holdings Ltd Investa Property Group ISS Australia Japara Holdings Macarthur Minerals Limited Mawson West Limited Mediabrands Australia Mi9 Millhouse, Inc. PLC National Australia Bank Puma Energy Salmat The BPAY Group Vantage Asset Management Pty Limited

Eastern European Deal of the Year - UNIQA acquisition of Baloise’s subsidiaries in Croatia and Serbia Investment and Advisory Company of the Year - Austria

Bangladesh Syed Ishtiaq Ahmed & Associates

Leading Law Firm of the Year - Bangladesh

Belarus Business-Advocate Sysouev, Bondar, Khrapoutski Law Firm

Rising Stars in Legal Services - Belarus Law Firm of the Year - Belarus

Belgium Bencis Capital Partners BV Buyway Council of the European Union Gimv Ideal Standard ING Belgium KeBeK Private Equity Loyens & Loeff Advocats Meucci Solutions NV PWC

Investment Director of the Year - Belgium CEO of the Year - Belgium Business Excellence Award - Belgium Investment Company of the Year - Belgium Retailer of the Year - Belgium Leveraged Finance Team of the Year - Belgium Private Equity Fund of the Year - Belgium Real Estate Practice of the Year - Belgium Telecommunications CFO of the Year - Belgium Sustained Excellence in Transaction Services - Belgium

Bermuda North Atlantic Drilling Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd

No. 1 Offshore Drilling Company of the Year - Bermuda CFO of the Year - Bermuda

Bhutan Royal Securities Exchange of Bhutan Ltd

CEO of the Year - Bhutan

Bolivia Bermdez Bermdez & Bermdez - S.C. - Law Offices Sanjines & Asociados - Abogados

Law Firm of the Year - Bolivia Business Law Firm of the Year - Bolivia

Botswana Luke & Associates

Law Firm of the Year - Botswana

Brazil Aoki advogados associados Deloitte Guerra e Batista Advogados KLA-Koury Lopes Advogados Loeser e Portela Advogados Ministry of Publics Works, GeographicalCadastre, Natural Resources, and Environment Souza Cruz / British American Tobacco Bulgaria Djingov, Gouginski, Kyutchukov & Velichkov Legalex Law Office Penev LLP Telenor Tsvetkova, Bebov and Partners British Virgin Islands Newhaven BVI

Business Law Firm of the Year - Brazil Tax Adviser of the Year - Brazil Ethical Law Firm of the Year - Brazil Most Dynamic Law Firm of the Year - Brazil Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Brazil Commitment to Geographical Research - Brazil Assurance Manager of the Year - Brazil Banking & Finance Law Firm of the Year - Bulgaria Commercial Law Firm of the Year - Bulgaria and Real Estate Legal Team of the Year - Bulgaria Law Firm of the Year - Bulgaria and Legal Managing Partner of the Year - Bulgaria No.1 Telecommunications Company of the Year - Bulgaria Litigation and Dispute Resolution Law Firm of the Year Bulgaria Company Formations Business Excellence Award - BVI

Brunei Cheok Advocates & Solicitors

Full-Service Law Firm of the Year - Brunei

Cambodia Cambodian Federation of Employers and Business Associations

HR and Labour Law Consultancy of the Year - Cambodia

Cameroon The Abeng Law Firm

Business Law Firm of the Year - Cameroon

Canada ACE Adamera Minerals Corp Agilith Capital Inc Alpha Peak Leisure Inc. Arian Astrix Networks Inc. Atrium Mortgage Investment Corporation Aurinia Pharmaceuticals Inc. B2Gold Corp

Technology Platform of the Year - Canada Mining CEO of the Year - Canada Fund Management Business Excellence Award - Canada Leisure Industry CFO of the Year - Canada Most Highly Regarded CEO of the Year - Canada Most Innovative Technology Industry Management Team of the Year - Canada Investment CEO of the Year - Canada Pharmaceuticals COO of the Year - Canada Leading Innovators in Gold Production - Canada

www.acquisition-intl.com

76 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Big North Graphite Corp Biofortuna Biomass Secure Power Inc Biosign Blackline GPS Bullman Minerals Inc. Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC) Venture Capital Canadian Metals Inc Canarc Canfor Pulp Products Inc. CardioComm Solutions, Inc. CB Gold Inc. C-COM Satellite Systems Inc Clean Seed Capital Group Ltd. CRS Electronics Inc. CTMS Travel Delphi Energy Desco Resources Inc. Eagle Energy Trust EDC ELA Trust Element Financial Corporation Endeavour Silver Corp.

Energold Drilling Corp Excel Latin America Bond Fund Expedition Helicopters Friday Capital Inc. GoGold ResourcesInc. Goldcorp Inc. Golden Health Care Inc. I.C.T.C. Holdings Corporation IJW & Co Imaginea Energy iWeb Group Inc Keek Kerr Mines Inc Khot Infrastructure Laurion Mineral Exploration Inc Lomiko Metals Inc. Long Run Exploration Ltd. Long Run Exploration Ltd. Loyalist Lucas Meyer Cosmetics Lumen Dynamics LX Ventures Inc. Magna International Inc. Manitok Energy Inc. MaRS Investment Accelerator Fund MAYA GOLD & SILVER INC. McMillan LLP Metallum Resources Inc Michael, Evrensel & Pawar LLP Momentum PR Inc Morguard Corporation Natunola AgriTech Inc. Neptune Technologies & Bioressources Inc. Noront Resources Ltd Northern Graphite Corporation ONEnergy Inc. Ontario Pension Board Pacific Booker Minerals Inc Pediapharm Inc. Pershimco Resources Inc Photon Control Inc. PNI Digital Media Inc. Prairie West Terminal Ltd. Primaris PricewaterhouseCoopers Immigration Law LLP Redwood Asset Management Rose City Printing and Packaging Royal Bank of Canada

www.acquisition-intl.com

Most Trusted CEO of the Year - Canada Healthcare CEO of the Year - Canada Renewable Energy Innovators of the Year - Canada Healthcare CEO of the Year - North West Rising Star in Technology Innovation - Canada Most Innovative CEO of the Year - Canada Venture Capital Investor of the Year - Canada Most Integrated Mining Company of the Year - Canada Most Innovative Mining Company of the Year - Canada Pulp & Paper Products Supplier of the Year - Canada Medical Software Firm of the Year - Canada Mining CFO of the Year - Canada Satellite-Based Technology Developers of the Year - Canada Agricultural Excellence in Innovation - Canada Lighting Products Manufacturer of the Year - Canada Tourism & Leisure Business Excellence Award - Canada Oil & Gas Company of the Year- Canada Most Respected Energy Company of the Year - Canada Energy CFO of the Year - Canada Canadian Advisory Firm of the Year Emerging Markets Investment Firm of the Year - Canada Equipment Finance Company of the Year - Canada Fast-Growth Business of the Year - Canada Mining Entrepreneur of the Year - Canada Emerging Markets Investment Strategy of the Year - Canada Client Focused President of the Year - Canada Law Firm of the Year - Canada Most Respected Mineral Resource Company of the Year - Canada Mining Fast-Growth Business of the Year - Canada Executive of the Year - Canada Leading COO of the Year - Canada Most Outstanding Boutique Corporate Finance Firm of the Year - Canada Energy Start-up Company of the Year - Canada IT Excellence in Innovation - Canada Top Social Networking App - Canada Most Respected Exploration Company of the Year - Canada Leading Infrastructure Company of the Year - Canada Businesswoman of the Year - Canada Resources Business Excellence Award - Canada Commitment to Exploration - Canada Light-oil Development Company of the Year - Canada Leading Services Provider to the Education Industry - Canada Leading Innovators to the Cosmetics Industry - Canada Most Innovative Lighting Manufacturer of the Year - Canada Chairman of the Year - Canada Automotive Business Excellence Award - Canada Oil & Gas Strategic Visionary of the Year - Canada Seed Funding Provider of the Year - Canada Sustained Excellence in Mining Exploration - Canada Business Law Firm of the Year - Canada Most Cutting Edge Mining Exploration Company of the Year - Canada Full-Service Law Firm of the Year - Canada Media Relations Agency of the Year - Canada Real Estate Investment Firm of the Year - Canada Health Sciences Company of the Year - Canada Biotechnology Firm of the Year - Canada Most Acquisitive Mining Company of the Year - Canada Mining Management Team of the Year - Canada Energy Management Team of the Year - Canada Pension Plan Providers of the Year - Canada Rising Stars in Mining - Canada Pharmaceutical Company of the Year - Canada Junior Mineral Exploration Company of the Year - Canada Technology Fast-Growth Business of the Year - Canada Excellence in Services to the Retail Industry - Canada Commodities Industry CEO of the Year - Canada Shopping Centre Management Leaders of the Year - Canada Immigration Law Firm of the Year - Canada Investment Fund Management Firm of the Year - Canada President of the Year - Canada Largest Bank of the Year - Canada

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp SAGE GOLD INC. Saint Jean Carbon Inc Sarama Resources Saskatoon Health Region SB Crisis Consulting Silver Standard Resources Inc. SIRIUS Conseils Sungold International Holdings Sweetpea Baby Food Telehop Telus Terracap Ventures The Intertain Group Limited The Oppenheimer Group This is Glow Touchstone Exploration Tupper, Jonsson & Yeadon Ubisoft Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Inc. Vanadiumcorp Resource Inc. VendAsta Technologies Inc. VIQ Solutions Inc. Virtutone Networks Inc. Visicom Media Inc. Wave Accounting Western Potash Corp Wheels Group WSP Yukon Gold Corporation, Inc. Cayman Islands Genesis Trust & Corporate Servics Ltd Legis Group Nelson & Company Attorney At Law Swiss & Global Fund Administration (Cayman) Ltd. China Beijing Huanzhong & Partners CNOOC Limited CVCA

Most Respected Precious Metals Company of the Year - Canada Mining Private Placement of the Year - Canada Most Influential CEO of the Year - Canada West Africa Focused Exploration Company of the Year - Canada Healthcare Services Team of the Year - Canada Crisis Communications Consultants of the Year - Canada Silver Resource Company of the Year - Canada Project Management Team of the Year - Canada Leading iGaming Industry Innovators of the Year - Canada Consumer Management Team of the Year - Canada Turnaround CEO of the Year - Canada Most Diverse Telecommunications Company of the Year - Canada Private Equity Group of the Year - Canada Most Innovative CFO of the Year - Canada Produce Distributor of the Year - Canada Start -Up of the Year - Canada In-house HR Team of the Year - Canada Law Firm of the Year - Vancouver Video Game Developer of the Year - Canada Most Diverse Pharmaceutical Company of the Year - Canada Most Trusted CFO of the Year - Canada Most Outstanding Online Reputation Management Firm of the Year - Canada Telecommunications CEO of the Year - Canada Telecoms CEO of the Year - Canada Overall Software Development Company of the Year - Canada Innovative Financial Product of the Year - Canada Industrial Metals & Minerals Company of the Year - Canada Most Acquisitive Logistics Company of the Year - Canada Environmental Consultancy Team of the Year - Canada Most Trusted Mining Company of the Year - Canada Financial Services Business Excellence Award - Cayman Islands Financial Solutions Firm of the Year - Channel Islands Law Firm of the Year - The Cayman Islands Global Asset Management Firm of the Year - the Cayman Islands

Herun Media HP Enterprise Services Jade Invest Pacific Risk Advisors Qunar

Legal Services Provider of the Year - China Global Strategic Planning Firm of the Year Outstanding Contribution to VC & PE Development - China Pharmaceutical Firm of the Year - China Real Estate Focussed Private Equity Firm of the Year - China Business Excellence Award for Marketing - China Technology Corporation of the Year - China Investment Management Firm of the Year - China CEO of the Year - China Leisure & Tourism Platform of the Year - China

Colombia Empresa de Energía de Bogotá (EEB) Landmark Capital Linio raisbeck osman & castro

Energy Business of the Year - Colombia Investment Advisory Firm of the Year - Colombia Retail Platform of the Year - Colombia Legal Services Provider of the Year - Colombia

Comoros Club OHADA Comores

Incorporation Specialist of the Year - Comoros

Costa Rica Ernst & Young Mesoamerica

Central American Tax Team of the Year Central American Private Equity Firm of the Year

Croatia CIKAC Divjak, Topic & Bahtijarevic Law Firm Financial Agency - Center for HITRO.HR Vipnet Wolf Theiss

Law Office of the Year - Croatia Incorporation Specialist of the Year - Croatia Financial Mediation Firm of the Year - Croatia Telecoms Operator of the Year - Croatia Legal Managing Partner of the Year - Croatia

Cyprus Andreas A. Papadopoulos & Co. Advocates

Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Cyprus

Eddingpharm Gaw Capital

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 77

Beneficentia Ltd IronFX XBT Holding XBT Holding Czech Republic AVAST Software Glatzov & Co GURLICH &Co. Advokatni kancelar Havel, Holásek & Partners Oskar Plast Pentahotels PineBridge Investments Švehlík & Mikuláš advokáti s.r.o.

Denmark EY Kromann Reumert Napatech

Fund Management Company of the Year - Cyprus Forex Broker Business Excellence Award - Cyprus Business Excellence in IT Award - Cyprus No.1 Technology Company of the Year - Cyprus IT Firm the Year - Czech Republic Legal Services Firm of the Year - the Czech Republic Real Estate Law Firm of the Year - Czech Republic Czech Corporate Law Firm of the Year Retail Business Excellence Award - Czech Republic Business Hotel of the Year - Czech Republic Global Asset Management Firm of the Year - Czech Republic Law Firm of the Year - Czech Republic

Nordic Real Estate Partners PenSam Telia Denmark Vivino

Due Diligence Firm of the Year - Denmark Legal Services Firm of the Year - Denmark Technological Communications Firm of the Year - Denmark Real Estate Investors of the Year - Denmark Pensions Specialist of the Year - Denmark Telecommunications Firm of the Year - Denmark CEO of the Year - Denmark

East Timor CRA Timor

Law Firm of the Year - East Timor

Egypt AbdelWahabSons Citadel Capital Iclipa Law Firm Iclipa Law Firm

Export Firm of the Year - Egypt MENA Investment Company of the Year Business Lawyer of the Year - Egypt Full Service Law Firm of the Year - Egypt

Estonia Advokaadiburoo SORAINEN AS Deloitte Advisory AS Glikman & Partnerid

Law Firm of the Year - Estonia Excellence in Tax Advisory Award - Estonia Overall Baltic Legal Services Provider of the Year

Ethiopia Alpha Tour & Travel Agency Amanuel Technocommercial Technology Trading International Plc Belka Plc BIOTECH PLC Ethio Queen Business Enterprise Ethio-Drilling And Water Engineering Plc Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines Ethiopian Airlines Hab General Trading Plc S.Sara Coffee Exporter Enterprise Shashikant Prabhudas & Co. (Ethiopia) Ltd Finland Backstrom & Co Finnair Forendo Pharma Ltd Kalliolaw Asianajotoimisto Oy - Attorneys at Law MD Normet International Ltd Outotec Secto Automotive Technopolis Technopolis France AEC Partners Aelis Farma Bryan, Garnier & Co Calao Finance Cdmf-avocats CFAO CM-CIC Capital Finance Demeter Partners Demeter Partners Ecomobilite Ventures Elaia Partners Eyetechcare Fondations Capital Gaztransport et Technigaz (GTT) Gaztransport et Technigaz (GTT) H.I.G. Capital IDEOL

Travel Agency of the Year - Ethiopia Medical Focussed Firm of the Year - Ethiopia Logistics Business of the Year - Ethiopia Biotech Firm of the Year - Ethiopia Automotive Firm of the Year - Ethiopia Engineering Firm of the Year - Ethiopia Business Airline of the Year - Africa CEO of the Year - Ethiopia Business Airline of the Year - Ethiopia Automotive Importer of the Year - Ethiopia Coffee Exporter of the Year - Ethiopia Import/Export Services firm of the Year - Ethiopia Partner of the Year - Finland Growth Strategy of the Year - Finland Pharmaceutical Company of the Year - Finland Most Outstanding M&A Law Firm of the Year - Finland Mining Business Excellence Award - Finland Leading Innovators in Energy - Finland Finnish CEO of the Year - Transport Finnish CEO of the Year -Real Estate Business Support Services Firm of the Year - Finland Healthcare Advisory Firm of the Year - France Excellence in Biotechnology Innovation - France Independent Investment Banking Firm of the Year - France SME Investment Firm of the Year - France Legal Services Firm of the Year - France Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award - France Start-up Investment Firm of the Year - France Cleantech Investment Firm of the Year - France Eco-Industries Focussed Investor of the Year - USA Corporate Citizen of the Year - France Digital Private Equity Firm of the Year - France Excellence in Ophthalmolog Innovation - France Mid-Market Private Equity Firm of the Year - France Engineering Firm of the Year - France Dedication to R&I Award - France Private Investment Team of the Year - France Energy Sector Innovators of the Year - France

L Capital Lazard LBO France Leetchi Marc Chaudet Avocat a la Cour Natureo Finance Orolia Pixium Qualisteo Rexel Developpement SAS SPIGRAPH Group Terreis Weinberg Capital Partners XAnge Private Equity

Software Focussed Investment Firm of the Year - France Personal Care Private Equity Firm of the Year - France Businesswoman of the Year - France French Private Equity Firm of the Year Innovation in Merchant Solutions Award - France M&A Law Firm of the Year - France Cleantech Advisory Firm of the Year - France Innovation in Electronic & Telematic Systems - France Excellence in Therapeutic Innovation - France Innovation in Energy Award - France No. 1 Electrical Supplier of the Year - France CFO of the Year - France French CEO of the Year - Real Estate Mid Market LBO Fund of the Year - France French CEO of the Year - Investment

Gambia S.M. Joof Agency

Legal Service Provider of the Year - Gambia

Georgia Georgia Revenue Service

International Relations Team of the Year - Georgia

Iris Cpaital

Germany 3D-Micromac

Voxeljet WERU GmbH zanox

TMT - Deal of the Year - 3D-Micromac AG acquires TLS-Dicing© from Jenoptik - Germany M&A Lawyer of the Year - Germany Real Estate CEO of the Year - Germany Excellence in Biotechnology Innovation - Germany Business Advisory CEO of the Year - Germany Hospitality Deal of the Year - Cultuzz Digital Media GmbH Acquisition of Recommended Hotels Ltd - Germany Commitment to Health & Safety Innovation - Germany Consumer Business Excellence Award - Germany Private Equity Business Excellence Award - Germany Integrated Risk Management Firm of the Year - Germany Energy CEO of the Year - Germany Energy Management Team of the Year - Germany Energy Supplier of the Year - Germany Financial Advisory Boutique of the Year - Germany IT Excellence in Innovation -Germany Investment Banking Firm of the Year - Germany Appointment of the Year - Germany Mid-Market Investment Firm of the Year - Germany Investment Strategy of the Year - Germany SME Focused Private Equity Firm of the Year - Germany Online Payment Solution Provider of the Year - Germany High-Growth Investment Innovators of the Year - Germany Media Business Excellence Award - Germany Investment Management Team of the Year - Germany Consumer Deal of the Year - Rent-a-guide acquisition of LocalGuiding - Germany Excellence in Biopharmaceutical Innovation - Germany Real Estate Law Firm of the Year - Germany IT Management Team of the Year - Germany Recruitment platform of the Year - Germany European Entrepreneur of the Year 2014 Energy Investment Firm of the Year - Germany Digital Communications and Marketing Firm of the Year - Germany Employment Law Advisor of the Year - Germany IT Business Excellence Award - Germany and IT Rising Star - Germany Most Innovative Manufacturer - Germany Consumer Management Team of the Year - Germany Performance Advertising Firm of the Year - Germany

Ghana Climate Shipping & Trading Limited Freann Financial Services Limited Masita Enterprise

Transportation Business Excellence Award - Ghana Financial Service Providers of the Year - Ghana Property Developer of the Year - Ghana

Aderhold Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH alstria office REIT-AG apceth GmbH & Co. KG Board Advisors Deutschland GmbH Cultuzz Digital Media GmbH DEKRA Delivery Hero Deutsche Beteiligungs AG Dr.BELLOF CONSULTING ECE Entrade Energiesysteme AG EON EquityGate Advisors GmbH finocom AG Georgieff Capital Advisors GmbH McDermott Will & Emery Novum Capital Beratungsgesellschaft mbH Palero Capital Parcom Deutsche Private Equity Paymill PINOVA Capital GmbH ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG Quadriga Capital Rent-a-guide Rodos BioTarget GmbH Rudolf Spoerer & Dr. Hartmut Wicke Sensorberg Softgarden Stefan Glaenzer Strasser Capital Syzygy Tilmann A. Muller Rechtsanwalt tocario GmbH

Global 8 Miles Alchemy Systems Alchemy Systems Birch Box Cerner EIG Global Energy Partners

Excellence in Africa-focused Investment International Solution & Growth Focussed Training Firm of the Year Solution & Growth Focussed Training Firm of the Year Global Discovery Commerce Platform of the Year Global Healthcare Company of the Year Global Independent Asset Management Firm of the Year

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78 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Fashion Playtes First Quantum Minerals Ltd FSN Capital Goldman Sachs Alternative Investments & Manager Selection (AIMS) Group Havasmag IATA Inchcape Investis JTC Group Lee Hecht Harrison Lulu Nice Actimize Silver Wing UK Spredfast Inc. Steward Partners Transcather Technologies Utilty Wise Greece Coca-Cola Hellenic Energean Oil Eurobank PotamitisVekris V&P Law Firm

Global Commitment to e-commerce Innovation Global Copper Production Company of the Year Nordic Private Equity Firm of the Year Most Outstanding Private Equity Firm of the Year

Birlasoft Cadila Health Ltd CapitalVia Global Copal Art Pvt Ltd

Global Excellence in Integrated Media Solutions Global International Air Transport Association Global Automotive Group of the Year Client Choice Corporate Communications Firm of the Year Global Excellence in Fund Services Global Career Transition Firm of the Year Global Self Publishing Platform of the Year Excellence in Global Business Award Innovation Excellence Award for Non Destructive Testing Equipment Global Sustained Excellence in Social Media Software Global Advisory CEO of the Year Innovation Excellence Award for Implantation Technology Energy & Water Consultancy Commitment to Excellence Award - Global

Crompton Greaves Limited Dentsu Aegis Network Fairbridge Capital First Solar - Genesis Burson-Marsteller Flipkart Internet Pvt. Ltd Fortis Healthcare Ltd HP IBHFL IBS Software Services Indegene Indian Angel Network Infosys Limited

Outstanding Commitment to Sustainability - Greece Oil & Gas Exploration Firm of the Year - Greece Bank of the Year - Greece Legal Business Excellence Award - Greece Full Service Corporate & Business Law Firm of the Year - Greece

O.P. Khaitan & Co Oberoi Realty Pennant Technologies Precise Fasteners Private Limited

Grenada Grenada Customs and Excise Division

Business Excellence Award - Grenada

Guatemala Despacho De Abogados Salazar-Muoz

Law Firm of the Year - Guatemala

Guinea-Bissau Repblica da Guin-Bissau

Director of the Year - Guinea-Bissau

Haiti Le Cabinet Augustin

Legal Business Excellence Award - Haiti

Honduras Abogados & Asociados S. De R.L. De C.V.

Lawyer of the Year - Honduras

Hong Kong Ascent Partners Group Limited Cheung Tong & Rosa Solicitors D & G Accounting Consultancy Company Deacons Deacons Ernst & Young Luen Thai Holdings Melco Crown Entertainment OIL Orrick PwC Wilkinson & Grist Hungary Cseri & Partners Law Firm DBH Investment Co. Forgó, Damjanovic & Partners Law Firm Forgó, Damjanovic & Partners Law Firm Invescom Corporate Finance Sándor Szegedi Szent-Ivány Komáromi Eversheds Attorneys at Law Szecskay Attorneys at Law Iceland CATO Logmenn Thule Investment Advisors India Aegis Media India Private Limited Alliance Integrated Metaliks ltd Anand and Anand Asian Healthcare Fund AZB & PARTNERS Bhatia Tools & Technology

www.acquisition-intl.com

Transaction Advisory Firm of the Year - Hong Kong Corporate Finance Law Firm of the Year - Hong Kong Accountancy Firm of the Year - Hong Kong Tax Law Advisor of the Year - Hong Kong Legal Business Excellence Award - Hong Kong Financial Services Business Excellence Award - Hong Kong Consumer CEO of the Year - Hong Kong Tourism & Leisure Business Excellence Award - Hong Kong Company Formation Specialist Firm of the Year - Hong Kong Global Law Firm of the Year - Hong Kong M&A Tax Team of the Year - Hong Kong Dispute Resolution Team of the Year - Hong Kong M&A Law Firm of the Year - Hungary Investment Management Team of the Year - Hungary Legal CEO of the Year - Hungary International Business Law Firm of the Year - Hungary M&A Advisory Firm of the Year - Hungary Businesswoman of the Year - Hungary

KALEVA Merajob India Motilal Oswal Private Equity Nationwide Docs Neeraj Bhagat & Co.

Rajkishore & Associates Ratnagiri Impex Reliance Life Insurance Company Limited Religare Seedfund Selvam & Selvam, Advocates Sunteck Realty Ltd. Surya Samudra Hospitality Ventures Private Ltd. Synthes Medical Pvt Ltd (Company of Johnson & Johnson) Taproot Tata Tele Services Ltd Tata Teleservices Ltd

VLCC Health Care Limited

Most Creative Management Team of the Year - India Sustained Excellence in Telecommunications - India Telecommunications Service Provider of the Year - India Tourism & Leisure Leadership Team of the Year - India Entrepreneur of the Year - India Most Innovative Software Company of the Year - India Sustained Excellence in Health & Fitness Services - India Indian Businesswoman of the Year - Beauty & Wellness

Indonesia Hadiputranto Hadinoto & Partners Ignatius Andy Law Lippo Karawaci Mochtar Karuwin & Komar MUC Consulting Group PB TAXAND PT Creador Soewito Suhardiman Eddymurthy Kardono (SSEK)

Legal Services Business Excellence Award - Indonesia Boutique Law Firm of the Year - Indonesia Property Developer of the Year - India M&A Law Team of the Year - Indonesia Business Advisory Firm of the Year - Indonesia Integrated Tax Advisory of the Year - Indonesia Private Equity Firm of the Year - India Law Firm of the Year - Indonesia

Thomas Cook Varthana Vinculum Solutions VLCC Health Care Limited

Ireland AMOSS Solicitors

PricewaterhouseCoopers Shire Trino

Insolvency & Restructuring Adviser of the Year - Ireland Consultant Engineering Firm of the Year - Ireland Insurance Broker of the Year - Ireland Financial Services CEO of the Year - Ireland Company Formations Firm of the Year - Ireland International Currency Transfer Platform of the Year - Ireland Financial Services Success Through People - Ireland Financial Services Management Team of the Year - Ireland Financial Services Business Excellence Award - Ireland Healthcare Growth Strategy of the Year - Ireland Excellence in Pharmaceutical Innovation - Ireland

Isle of Man MannBenham Advocates Limited Mann Benham Advocates Limited

Full Service Law Firm of the Year - Isle of Man Litigation Lawyer of the Year - Isle of Man

Israel Aorato Beyond Verbal Heskia-Hacmun Law Firm Jerusalem Insurance Agency Ltd Ne’eman, Keynan & Co. law firm (N|T|K)

Start-up of the Year - Israel IT Excellence in Innovation - Israel Legal Management Team of the Year - Israel Insurance Business Excellence Award - Israel Business Lawyer of the Year - Israel

Byrne Looby Partners Campion Insurance Cantor Fitzgerald Ireland Ltd Company Bureau Formations Ltd CurrencyFair Davy Stockbrokers Phoenix Fund Services Limited

Legal Management Team of the Year - Hungary Legal Business Excellence Award - Iceland Venture Capital CEO of the Year - Iceland Media CEO of the Year - India Project Construction Service Provider of the Year - India The Best Law Firm CIO (India) & IP Law Firm of the Year - India Most Respected CFO of the Year - India Corporate Law Firm of the Year - India Industrial Tool Manufacturer of the Year - India

Leading Innovators in IT Services - India Pharmaceutical CFO of the Year - India Investment Advisory Company of the Year - India Art Advisory & Placement Company of the Year - India Leading Electrical Energy Firm of the Year - India Media CEO of the Year - India Investment Adviser of the Year - India Green Technology Innovators of the Year - India No. 1 Online Marketplace of the Year - India Healthcare Business Excellence Award - India Risk Management Director of the Year - India Best Housing Finance Company of the Year - India IT Solutions Provider of the Year - India Life Science Services Firm of the Year - India Angel Investors Network of the Year - India Business Technology Consulting Firm of the Year - India Confectionery Manufacturers of the Year - India Leading Innovators in Recruitment Services - India Private Equity Advisers of the Year - India Innovators in Healthcare Services - India Overall Company Formation Firm of the Year - Start Up Full-Service Law Firm of the Year - India Real Estate Business Excellence Award - India Financial IT Specialists of the Year - India Most Innovative Management Team of the Year - India Indian Start Up Tax Advisory Firm of the Year Leading Innovators in Gardening Equipment - India Leading Life Insurance Company of the Year - India Leading CEO of the Year - India Investment Fund of the Year - India Leading Innovators in IP Law - India Leading Real Estate Developer of the Year - India Leading Boutique Hotel Chain of the Year - India Leading Innovators to the Healthcare Industry - India

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 79

Financial Services Business Excellence Award - Israel Tax Advisory of the Year - Israel Legal Marketing Firm of the Year - Israel Relocation Firm of the Year - Israel CEO of the Year - Israel

Vistra (Luxembourg) Sarl

Malaysia Hewlett Packard Multimedia Sdn Bhd

SYNTEGRA CAPITAL ADVISORS

Business Excellence Awards - Italy Private Equity Firm of the Year - Italy Travel Platform of the Year - Italy Legal Businesswoman of the Year - Italy Healthcare Business Excellence Award - Italy Investment Management Team of the Year - Italy Mid-Size Law Firm of the Year - Italy Legal Managing Partner of the Year - Italy Business IT Systems Provider of the Year - Italy Businesswoman of the Year - Italy and Financial Services Advisory Team of the Year - Italy Independent Buyout Firm of the Year - Italy

Jamaica Grant, Stewart, Phillips & Co. KWL Myers, Fletcher & Gordon

Real Estate Law Firm of the Year - Jamaica Multipurpose Terminal Operator of the Year - Jamaica Legal Business Excellence Award - Jamaica

PwC Israel PwC Israel Robus Sonigo Yissum Italy A-Company SRL Berrier Capital Best Tours Biolato Longo Ridola & Mori Dedalus Fondo Italiano d’Investimento SGR SpA Giambrone Law Nunziante Magrone Oracle Studio Tarantino & Partners

Japan City-Yuwa Partners Rogers Investment Advisors LLC Jersey R&H Fund Services Triton Partners Jordan Zalloum & Laswi Law Firm

Full Service Law firm of the Year - Japan Investment Advisory Firm of the Year - Japan Fund Administration Services Firm of the Year - Jersey Private Equity Firm of the Year - Jersey Legal Business Excellence Award - Jordan and Overall Law Film of the Year - Jordan Legal Business Excellence Award - Kazakhstan

Kenya Chase Bank Kenya Deposit Protection Fund Diamond Trust Bank Kenya Limited Kenya Power Lighting Company Microflex Business Solutions (Africa) Limited Shelter Afriquue Trade Mark East Africa

Fastest Growing Bank of the Year - Kenya Businesswoman of the Year - Kenya Bank of the Year - Kenya Energy Firm of the Year - Kenya Business Continuity Advisory Firm of the Year - Kenya Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility - Kenya East African Trademark Specialists of the Year

Burgan Bank Faten Al Naqeeb & Partners Lebanon Law Offices of A. Abboud & Associates Nader Law Office Raphael & Associes Smayra Law Office Lesotho Vodacom Lesotho Lithuania Law Firm Motieka & AudzeviŽcius Lit Capital TRINITI Luxembourg Chenavari Equi Investments SA Equi Investments Sarl FLASHiZ International Financial Data Services Luxembourg SA Mangrove Net-Consilium

Middle Eastern Law Advisory Firm of the Year - Kuwait Tourism & Leisure Management Team of the Year 2014 Bank of the Year - Kuwait Domestic Arbitration Firm of the Year - Kuwait Corporate Law Firm of the Year - Lebanon Legal Business Excellence Award - Lebanon Law Firm of the Year - Lebanon Client Choice Award: Law Firm of the Year- Lebanon Business Excellence in Telecommunications Award - Lesotho Legal Business Excellence Award -Lithuania Private Equity Fund Management Firm of the Year - Lithuania Business Lawyer of the Year - Lithuania Credit & Structured Finance Asset Manager of the Year - Luxembourg Financial CEO of the Year - Luxembourg Investment Management Firm of the Year Luxembourg Mobile Payment Solutions Firm of the Year Luxembourg Business Excellence in Data Services - Luxembourg Venture Capital Business Excellence Award - Luxembourg Business Consultancy Firm of the Year - Luxembourg

Business Excellence in Law 2014 - Macedonia Law Firm of the Year - Macedonia

Lembaga Hasil Dalam Negeri Quill Capita Trust The Chambers of R. Sivagnanam & Associates

Business Continuity Management Team of the Year - Malaysia Public and Investor Relations Company of the Year - Malaysia Business Excellence Award - Malaysia Real Estate Company of the Year - Malaysia Boutique Law Firm of the Year - Malaysia

Malta Fenech & Fenech Advocates Le Meridien St Julians Hotel & Spa

Law Firm of the Year - Malta Boutique Hotel of the Year - Malta

Marshall Islands Marshall Islands Lawyers

Maritime Law Firm of the Year - Marshall Islands

Imej Jiwa

Mauritania Cheikhany Jules Law Office Mauritius ABC Global Management Services AFIG Fund

Kazakhstan Synergy Partners Law Firm

Kuwait Ali & Partners Alshamel Travel

Macedonia Cakmakova Advocates Trpenoski Law Firm

Company Formation and Management Firm of the Year - Luxembourg

Banymandhub Boolell Chambers Catalyst Princple Continuity Mauritius

Legal Advisory Firm of the Year - Mauritania Financial Services Firm of the Year - Mauritius Overall Fund Management Company of the Year - Mauritius Boutique Law Firm of the Year - Mauritius Private Equity Fund Manager of the Year - Mauritius Business Continuity Management Firm of the Year - Mauritius

Mexico Barrera Siqueiros y Torres Landa Ernst & Young Fermaca Intercontinental Network Services JA Trevi¤o Abogados Nexxus Capital

Legal Services Team of the Year - Mexico Commitment to Excellence in Tax Advisory - Mexico Energy Firm of the Year - Mexico Corporate Citizen of the Year - Mexico Mexican Managing Partner of the Year Private Equity Firm of the Year - Mexico

Moldova ACI Partners Victor Burac Law Firm

Legal Partner of the Year - Moldova Incorporation Firm of the Year - Moldova

Mongolia MahoneyLiotta LLP

Incorporation Firm of the Year - Mongolia

Morocco NERO Boutique Law Firm

Boutique Law Firm of the Year - Morocco

Mozambique Vasconcelos Porto & Associados

Full Service Law Firm of the Year - Mozambique

Nepal KTO Solar Law Associates

Tax Consultant of the Year - Nepal Law Firm of the Year - Nepal

Netherlands AEG Power Solutions Capem Capital CBRE Global Investors DSM Egeria Eurofiber Europol Eyefreight Fairtrasa Holland B.V. HEAVAC HVK Kalypso Kennedy Van der Laan NPM Capital NV Paradigm Group B.V.

Dutch CFO of the Year - Energy & Resources Investment Management Firm of the Year - the Netherlands Real Estate Investment Team of the Year - the Netherlands Dutch Deal of the Year - DSM/Patheon Mid-Market Private Equity Firm of the Year - the Netherlands Fibre Optics Firm of the Year - the Netherlands European Law Enforcement Agency of the Year Transportation Management System of the Year - the Netherlands Outstanding Commitment to Sustainability - the Netherlands Climate Control Manufacturer of the Year - the Netherlands Legal Services Provider of the Year - the Netherlands Innovation Consulting Firm of the Year - the Netherlands Banking & Finance Lawyer of the Year - the Netherlands Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award - the Netherlands Dutch CEO of the Year & Dutch Deal of the Year - GeoKey Limited

www.acquisition-intl.com

80 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

PricewaterhouseCoopers RUSSELL ADVOCATEN Waterland Private Equity Investments B.V New Zealand Buddle Findlay Buddle Findlay Debitsuccess Desert Heart Genesis Energy Lowndes Associates McCabe and Company

Commitment to Global Trade Award - the Netherlands Full Service Law Firm of the Year - the Netherlands Private Equity Firm of the Year - the Netherlands

VTNZ

Legal Services Firm of the Year - New Zealand Legal Partner of the Year - New Zealand Financial Growth Strategy of the Year - New Zealand Commitment to Excellence in New Zealand Wines Energy Firm of the Year - New Zealand Corporate Law Firm of the Year - New Zealand Intellectual Property Advisory Firm of the Year - New Zealand Medical Association of the Year - New Zealand Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award - New Zealand International Trade Lawyer of the Year - New Zealand Boutique Law Firm of the Year - New Zealand Commitment to M&A - New Zealand Corporate Citizens of the Year - New Zealand Business Support Services Firm of the Year - New Zealand Most Trusted Vehicle Inspection Brand - New Zealand

Nigeria Abike Chambers Legal Practitioners & Consultants AIRTEL NETWORKS LIMITED Base4 Investment (Nig.) Ltd. Etisalat G. ELIAS & CO. GITRAS Ltd. Guaranty Trust Bank Plc SEPLAT Stillwaters Law Firm Task Systems Ltd

Nigerian Start Up Advisory Chambers of the Year Telecommunications Firm of the Year - Nigeria Incorporation Firm of the Year - Nigeria Telecommunications Company of the Year - Nigeria Commitment to Legal Excellence in Nigeria International Trade Consultancy of the Year - Nigeria Corporate Bank of the Year - Nigeria Petroleum Development Company of the Year - Nigeria Legal Services Provider of the Year - Nigeria ICT Firm of the Year - Nigeria

Medical Technology Association of NZ Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Minter Ellison Rudd Watts Patterson Hopkins Quigg Partners Russell McVeagh’s The Icehouse

Norway Book Norway Deloitte First House Hansa Borg Herkules Capital Incitia Ventures AS M7 Navico Holding AS Nogne O Nordic World PwC Spike The Norwegian Microfinance Initiative Veidekke Industri Wilhelmsen Technical Solutions Panama Pardini & Associates Papua New Guinea IPA

Most Innovative Travel Company of the Year - Norway Transaction Services Team of the Year - Norway Strategic Consultancy Firm of the Year - Norway Consumer Deal of the Year - Hansa Borg Bryggerier/Nogne O transaction Private Equity Firm of the Year - Norway Fund Manager of the Year - Norway Oil & Gas Project Management Firm of the Year - Norway PR Team of the Year - Norway No. 1 Brewery of the Year - Norway Leading CEO of the Year - Norway Business Lawyer of the Year - Norway Energy CEO of the Year - Norway Leading Innovators in Investment - Norway Leading Norwegian Construction Company of the Year Maritime & Offshore Technical Solutions Provider of the Year 2014 - Norway

Puerto Rico Business Continuity Professionals Inc Consultiva Internacional, Inc. Pharmpix Corporation Romania Nestor Nestor Diculescu Kingston Petersen Nuclearelectrica SCA Turculeanu & Asociatii Taxhouse SRL Russia JSC Ukrenergochermet Mail.ru Group Russian Direct Investment Fund Sovcombank Yota Devices Yota Devices Yust Law Firm Saudi Arabia Al Yusr Townsend & Bottom Co Ltd (AYTB) Aluminium Products Co (ALUPCO) Arab Supply & Trading Corp (ASTRA) Arabian Consulting Engineering Centre Consolidated Contractors Co WLL (CCC) Dnata Travel EMC Four Seasons Hotel Riyadh Int Expertise for Wood Ind- INEX Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector Islamic Development Bank Jeddah Marriott Hotel

PwC Saudi Arabia Rawabi Marketing International

Foreign Investment Specialist Team of the Year - Papua New Guinea

Safid Company Limited

Mining Company of the Year -Peru Recruitment Firm of the Year - Philippines Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Philippines Full Service Law firm of the Year - Philippines Business Law Firm of the Year - Philippines Commercial Law Firm of the Year - Philippines Legal Business Excellence Award - the Philippines

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PLEN - Sociedade de Advogados, RL Quinta & Vineyard Bottlers Vinhos SA Ricardo Marques Candeias

Law Firm of the Year - Panama

Philippines Aboitiz Angara Abello Concepcion Regala & Cruz (ACCRALAW) Bucoy Poblador & Associates Puyat Jacinto & Santos Law Offices SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan SyCip Salazar Hernandez & Gatmaitan

Enterprise Investors Ernst & Young IBM Global Services Delivery Centre Innovacap InPost Konsalnet Holding SA

Portugal Abreu & Marques e Associados Farfetch Inapa Packaging / Europackaging MC&A - Sociedade de Advogados Norfin Inversiones Inmobiliarias, S.A.

Nasr Fiberglass Industries

Peru Antamina

Poland Capital Park Enterprise Investors

Lemon Sky LOT Polish Airlines Montagu Private Equity Sp. z o.o.

Real Estate Investment Group of the Year - Poland Fund Management Business Excellence Award - Poland Managing Partner of the Year - Poland Transaction Advisory Team of the Year - Poland Project Management Team of the Year - Poland Mid-Market Private Equity Firm of the Year - Poland CEO of the Year - Poland Leading Innovators in Securiy Services - Poland

Saudi Arabian Parsons Limited Saudi Call

Marketing Company of the Year - Poland No.1 Airline of the Year - Poland Private Equity Firm of the Year - Poland Securities Partner of the Year - Portugal Luxury Products Specialist of the Year - Portugal Growth Strategy of the Year - Portugal Tax Law Team of the Year - Portugal Real Estate Investment Management Firm of the Year - Spain Management Team of the Year - Portugal No. 1 Wine Producer of the Year - Portugal IP Infrastructure Management Firm of the Year - Portugal Business Continuity Solutions Provider of the Year - Puerto Rico Businesswoman of the Year - Puerto Rico Pharmaceutical Management Team of the Year - Puerto Rico Full Service Law Firm of the Year - Romania Transaction Services Team of the Year - Romania Most Prestigious Law Firm in Romania Tax Advisory Firm of the Year - Romania Business Incorporation Specialist of the Year - Russia Internet Communications Firm of the Year - Russia Equity Investment Fund of the Year - Russia and Kirill Dmitriev CEO of the Year - Russia Banking Business Excellence Award - Russia Excellence in Mobile Communications Innovation - Russia Broadband Services Provider of the Year - Russia Legal Service Provider of the Year - Russia Support Services Firm of the Year - Saudi Arabia Aluminium Products Firm of the Year - Saudi Arabia Saudi Management Team of the Year Consulting Engineering Services Firm of the Year - Saudi Arabia Infrastructure Sector Excellence Award - Saudi Arabia Middle East Aviation Company of the Year Data Centre of the Year - Saudi Arabia Luxury Business Hotel of the Year - Saudi Arabia Wood Industry Specialist of the Year - Saudi Arabia Islamic Banking Business Excellence Award - Saudi Arabia Banking Excellence Award - Saudi Arabia Business Excellence In Hospitality Award - Saudi Arabia Fiberglass Product Specialist of the Year - Saudi Arabia Saudi Tax Team of the Year Excellence in Chemical Industry Innovation - Saudi Arabia Air Distribution Systems Specialist of the Year - Middle East Corporate Citizen of the Year - Saudi Arabia Telecommunications Solutions Firm of the Year - Saudi Arabia

Seychelles Intershore Consult

Chambers of the Year - the Seychelles

Serbia Maric, Malisic & Dostanic Maric, Malisic & Dostanic Maric, Malisic & Dostanic

General Business Lawyer of the Year - Serbia Legal Management Team of the Year - Serbia M&A Lawyer of the Year - Serbia

Singapore Amtek Engineering Ltd Asia Growth Capital Advisors Athenaeum Limited Atlantis Resources Astrata Group Pte. Ltd. Augentius (Singapore) Pte. Ltd Deloitte Singapore Dentsu Aegis Network Global Vantage Innovative Group

Engineering Company of the Year - Singapore Chairman of the Year - Singapore Best Investment Team of the Year - Singapore Singapore CEO of the Year - Energy & Resources Innovation in IT Excellence - Singapore Private Equity Fund Administrator of the Year - Singapore Financial Services Firm of the Year - Singapore Online Media CEO of the Year - Singapore Beauty & Wellness Corporation of the Year - Singapore

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 81

Harry Elias Partnership LLP Harry Elias Partnership LLP HSL Constructor One Asia Investment Partners

RHTLaw Taylor Wessing Singapore Press Holdings Ltd SingTel

Corporate Citizen of the Year - Singapore Construction Law Team of the Year - Singapore Construction Excellence Award - Singapore HNI Choice Award: Customised Innovative Solutions Provider of the Year - Switzerland Household Brand Distributor of the Year - Singapore Seismic Processing Firm of the Year - South East Asia Legal Services Firm of the Year - Singapore Media Entity of the Year - Singapore Telecommunications Company of the Year - Singapore

Slovakia CLS Cavojsky & Partners, s.r.o.

CLS Cavojsky & Partners, s.r.o.

Legal CEO of the Year - Slovakia Legal Service Provider of the Year - Slovakia

Overseas Union Enterprise Limited Quantum Geoservices

South Africa African Land Investments AngelHub (Pty) Ltd BELL Equipment Busveld Minerals Channel Africa COEGA Community Investment Holdings Edison Power Group EMITS Eskom Ethos FlowCentric Technologies

CEO of the Year - South Africa Rapid Growth Investors of the Year - South Africa Manufacturing Distributor of the Year - South Africa Mineral Development Firm of the Year - South Africa Media Entity of the Year - South Africa Development Corporation of the Year - South Africa Community Focussed Firm of the Year - South Africa Energy Company Management Team of the Year - South Africa Security Specialist of the Year - South Africa Energy & Resources Firm of the Year - South Africa Private Equity Fund Manager of the Year - South Africa Business Process Management Solutions Firm of the Year - South Africa

UCS Solutions VDL Bus & Coach SA Vodacom

Excellence in Black Economic Empowerment Transactions - South Africa Commitment to Excellence in the Energy Sector - South Africa Technology Company of the Year - South Africa Mobility Specialists of the Year - South Africa Innovation in IT Award - South Africa Information Management Solutions Firm of the Year - South Africa Asset Management Firm of the Year - South Africa Independent Alternative Asset Manager of the Year - South Africa M&A Advisory Firm of the Year - South Africa Corporate Citizen of the Year - South Africa Catalytic Investment Firm of the Year - South Africa Commercial Networking Firm of the Year - South Africa Media Agency Business Excellence Award - South Africa Oil & Gas Alliance of the Year - South Africa South African CFO of the Year Business Bank of the Year - South Africa Equity Investment Fund of the Year - South Africa Logistics Company of the Year - South Africa Exhibitions & Events Management Firm of the Year - South Africa Business Software Provider of the Year - South Africa Corporate Social Responsibility Award - South Africa Mobile Communications Firm of the Year - South Africa

South Korea LG Household & Health Care Ltd

Excellence in Global Innovation - South Korea

Glyn Marais Inc Huatech Electric South Africa IBM Imperial Logistics Intel Intervate Investec Laurium Capital Marlow Capital MMI Holdings Musa Capital Poynting Holdings RMS Media SAOGA Spar Group Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered Bank Super Group Limited Thebe Reed Exhibitions

Spain AENA Amadeus BGF Europe SA Cabif Cisneros Corpfin Capital Asesores SA SGECR Ferrovial Servicios

Julius & Creasy Julius & Creasy LAN Management Development Service LAN Management Development Service Messers. Julius & Creasy, Attorneys-at-Law, Solocitors & Notaries Public Path & Co Consultancy SJMS Associates St kitts & Nevis Customs and Excise Department St. Lucia Caribbean Diversified Investments, Inc. Swaziland DHL Municipal Council of Mbabane Robinson Bertram Sweden Altor Anoto Clever Collaboration Group Firm Moberg Pharma AB NYX Interactive Pegroco Pichit.me The Cryptzone Group Vitrolife Switzerland ABELS Avocats acano AG | Corporate Finance Alterra Bank Julius Bär & Co. Ltd. CGS Management giesinger gloor lanz & co.

CISEL Informatique SA Credit Suisse AG CSD Ingenieurs SA Dacharan Capital DealMarket Des Gouttes & Associs Diagnoplex DICOTA SCHWEIZ AG Eden Springs FIDES Business Partner AG GPA Advisors GreenIT consulting GTLaw InSphero AG Kasser Schlosser avocats LHA avocats

Gallego, Martos & Quadra - Salcedo Gamesa Energia Hernandez Marti Abogados Hilco UK Inveready Miura Private Equity Oryzon UP Capital Ysios Capital Partners SGECR SA Sri Lanka Julius & Creasy

Sri Lankan Business Advisory Firm of the Year

Humanitarian of the Year - Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Business Advisory Firm of the Year Customs and Excise Department of the Year - St. Kitts and Nevis Sustained Excellence in Diversified Investments - St Lucia Business Excellence in Logistics - 2014 Business Excellence in Swaziland - 2014 Corporate Law Firm of the Year Award - Swaziland Swedish Private Equity Firm of the Year Digital Writing Solutions of the Year - Sweden Entrepreneur of the Year - Sweden and Support Services Management Team of the Year - Sweden Swedish Investment of the Year - Dexplora attracts $1.2 million Pharmaceutical CEO of the Year - Sweden IT Excellence in Innovation - Sweden Investment Strategy of the Year - Sweden Start-up Firm of the Year - Sweden Technology Innovator of the Year - Sweden Swedish CEO of the Year

Starhome Mach Startup Weekend Association Startzentrum Zurich Talentory Tavernier Tschanz Tavernier Tschanz WISeKey SA

Boutique Law Firm of the Year - Switzerland Swiss Independent Consulting Firm of the Year Social Impact Investor of the Year - Switzerland Private Bank of the Year – Switzerland Tech Focused SME Investor of the Year - Switzerland Business Excellence in Outsourcing - Switzerland Switzerland-Based Multinational of the Year Engineering Consultancy Firm of the Year - Switzerland Swiss Alternative Investment Team of the Year Private Equity Platform of the Year Legal Service Provider of the Year - Switzerland Swiss-Based Biopharmaceutical Group of the Year Swiss Brand of the Year - Technology Accessories Water Solution Provider of the Year- Switzerland Swiss Pragmatic Solution Provider of the Year CEO of the Year - Switzerland Sustainable IT Innovator of the Year - Switzerland Capital Markets Law Firm of the Year - Switzerland Swiss Award for Technology & Innovation Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year - Switzerland Real Estate & Construction Lawyer of the Year - Switzerland Corporate Finance Advisory Firm of the Year - Switzerland Banking & Finance Lawyer of the Year - Switzerland Pharmaceutical CEO of the Year - Switzerland Private Equity Firm of the Year - Switzerland Business Excellence in Swiss Entertainment - 2014 Biomedical Firm of the Year - Switzerland Private Market Investment Adviser of the Year - Switzerland Roaming Services Provider of the Year - Switzerland Entrepreneurial Innovator of the Year - Switzerland Swiss Incorporation Expert of the Year Recruitment Firm of the Year - Switzerland Corporate Law Firm of the Year - Switzerland Dedication to Professional Excellence - Switzerland Internet Security Firm of the Year - Switzerland

Syria Sarkis & Associates

Law Firm of the Year - Syria

Taiwan Eiger Law Ernst & Young Joseph Tan Jude Benny LCS & Partners

Corporate Law Firm of the Year - Taiwan Transfer Pricing Adviser of the Year - Taiwan Competition Law Lawyer of the Year - Taiwan M&A Law Team of the Year - Taiwan

Lombard Network

Aviation Support Service Provider of the Year - Spain IT CFO of the Year - Spain Energy Innovator of the Year - Spain Overall CEO of the Year - Spain TMT Company of the Year - Spain Spanish Investment Director of the Year Deal of the Year - Amey acquisition of Enterprise - Spain Boutique Law Firm of the Year - Spain Energy Excellence in Innovation Award - Spain Business Acumen Law Firm of the Year - Spain Managing Director of the Year - Spain early stage Venture Capital group SME Private Equity Team of the Year - Spain Biotechnology Association 2014 Private Equity Firm of the Year - Spain Biotech CEO of the Year - Spain

Labour & Employment Lawyer of the Year - Sri Lanka Corporate & Commercial Law Firm of the Year - Sri Lanka Project Management Consultancy of the Year - Sri Lanka Lifetime Achievement Award - Sri Lanka Sri Lankan Business Advisory Firm of the Year

Niederer Kraft & Frey ObsEva Orlando Management Schweiz AG RadioFr / Media pub SA regenHU SCM Strategic Capital Management AG

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82 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Tanzania Adept Chambers East African Law Chambers LEXGLOBE LLP Tanzania

Fast-Growth Business of the Year Tanzania Law Firm of the Year - Tanzania Intellectual Property Practice of the Year - Tanzania

Thailand Blue Ocean Logistics Co Ltd. PwC Legal&Tax Consultants Ltd.

Logistics Business Excellence Award - Thailand Tax Advisor of the Year - Thailand

Trinidad and Tobago Brison Limited LEX Caribbean

Risk Training & Consultancy Firm of the Year - Trinidad & Tobago Legal Business Excellence Award - Trinidad

Turkey Akugur Law Office Aladdin Middle East Ltd. Aras Kargo Bezen & Partners Ernst & Young GSI Meridian Halitligil & Ark Patent and Trademark Consultancy Herdem & Co Herguner Bilgen Ozeke Attorney Partnership ID Consultancy Ltd. Orbis Vista IP & Law Group Orbis Vista IP & Law Group Paksoy Law Firm Tatilsepeti.com Tektron Yildirim Group

Banking & Finance Law Firm of the Year - Turkey Oil & Gas Exploration Company of the Year - Turkey Sustained Excellence in Transport Award - Turkey Excellence in Resolving Business Disputes - Turkey Transaction Services Team of the Year - Turkey Business Consultancy Firm of the Year - Turkey Corporate Citizen of the Year - Turkey Sustained Excellence in Corporate Law - Turkey Business Law Firm of the Year - Turkey Executive Search & HR Consultancy - Turkey Turkish Businesswoman of the Year Intellectual Property Law Firm of the Year - Turkey Full Service Law Firm of the Year - Turkey Leisure & Tourism Firm of the Year - Turkey Construction Firm of the Year - Turkey Industrial Company of the Year - Turkey

UAE Al Tamimi & Company Advocates & Legal Consultants AXA Insurance (Gulf) Barclays DPG DUBAI INTERNET CITY Dubai Islamic Bank Emirates Foundation GFH Capital Modern Freight Company L.L.C Sovereign Corporate Service JLT Uganda Consultant Surveyors and Planners PwC Kenya Waridtel UK 12 Kings Bench Walk AA Projects Ltd ACAL Energy Adbell International Ltd - Chartered adept4 Advanced Computer Software Group plc Advanced Power Components plc (APC) AE Aerospace AFEX Alkane Energy PLC All3Media Altera Partners Management, Ltd Altor Risk Group Limited Amara Mining Plc Amati Amigo Loans Angel CoFund Apptitude Media Archive Solutions Arena Group Arkivum Artificial Solutions ASAP54 Ashgrove Ashmore Investment Management Limited Aston Property Ventures August Equity Auto time

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Legal Service Provider of the Year - UAE Business Excellence in Insurance Award - UAE UAE Bank of the Year Excellence in Property Management - UAE ICT Centre of Excellence - UAE Islamic Bank of the Year - UAE and Most Established Bank of the Year - UAE Philanthropist Organisation of the Year - UAE Private Equity Firm of the Year - UAE Logistics Solutions Firm of the Year - UAE Corporate Service Provider of the Year - UAE Surveyors of the Year - Uganda Country Risk and Quality Manager of the Year - Uganda Business Excellence in Telecommunication - Uganda QC of the Year - UK Project Management Team of the Year - UK Energy CCO of the Year - UK Entrepreneur Choice Award: Tax Advisory Firm of 2014 and International Accountancy of the Year - UK IT CEO of the Year - UK Software Deal of the Year - Advanced Computer Software Group plc acquires ConsultCRM Distribution CEO of the Year - UK Aerospace CEO of the Year - UK Foreign Exchange Providers of the Year - UK 2014 Growth Award: Independent Power Generator of the Year - UK Media Businesswoman of the Year - UK Discretionary Portfolio of the Year - UK Risk Management Firm of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Mining - 2014 Investment CEO of the Year - UK Sustained Excellence in Personal Loans - UK and Credit Innovator of the Year - UK SME Support Service of the Year - UK Digital Publisher of the Year - UK Document Storage Company of 2014 Event Services Specialist of 2014 - UK IT CEO of the Year - South West Online Virtual Assistants Service Provider of the Year - UK IT Businesswomen of the Year - UK UK Insurance Company of the Year Emerging Markets Investment Manager of the Year UK Commercial Property Specialist of the Year - UK Finance & Operations Team of the Year - UK UK Time and Attendance Solutions Provider of 2014

Avisen plc Balreed Digitec Group Ltd Barclays Barings BBOXX BeDot Berkeley Energy Big Cat Group Bighead Bite Blackjack Promotions Blaser Mills Blondefish Bluefield BNP Paribas Real Estate Boddy Matthews Bonaccord Ecosse Limited Brammer Brand Communications Branded3 Brookfield Rose Brooks macdonald Business Growth Fund plc Cabot Financial Cabot Square Caerus Wealth Cambridge Mineral Resources Plc Canary Wharf Management Catapult Venture Managers Change Capital Partners LLP Change Capital Partners LLP ChangeGroup International Plc Chase Templeton Cisco CITE Investments Clarke Energy Closer Still CloudOrigin Limited Cohort Technology Collinson Insurance Group CompliGlobe Ltd Compounder SPC Europe Consilia Partners Limited Continuity West Copestick Murray Cordea Savills LLP Cranswick Plc Cream (UK) Ltd. Crisiscast Ltd CS Risk Management CUI Global inc Dainton Darty Group Darwin Strategic Davey Continuity Limited Delin Capital Asset Management Dental Excellence Dentons UKMEA LLP Deopham Consulting Ltd deVere Group DHL Supply Chain Digital Education Digital Realty Trust Inc Direct2Mum DocuSign Doughty Hanson & Co.

UK CFO of the Year - Software Fast-Growth Business of the Year - UK Communication Team of the Year - UK Sustained Excellence in Finance 2014 - UK and Global Distribution Head of the Year -UK Business Excellence in Energy Innovation -UK Business Excellence in IT Innovation - UK Renewable Energy Fund Manager of the Year - UK Results Driven Public Relations Team of the Year - UK Innovative Product of the Year - UK and Management Team of the Year - UK Veterinary Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Company of the Year - UK Business Excellence in iGaming- UK Blue Chip Choice Award: Asset Recovery Specialist of the Year - UK RFID Technology Expert of the Year - UK CleanTech Business Excellence Award 2014: Bluefield Solar Income Fund Real Estate CEO of the Year - UK Business Acumen Lawyer of the Year - UK Life Sciences Law Firm of the Year - Scotland Global Product of the Year - Roebuck’s Patented Uniwrench Tool African Focused Brand Specialist of the Year Marketing Strategy Specialist of the Year - UK Web-based Software & Consultancy Services Provider of the Year - UK UK Asset Manager of the Year Growth Capital Investment Director of the Year - UK UK Credit Management Firm of 2014 Long-Term Equity Capital Investor of the Year - UK UK Group Finance Director of the Year Junior Mining Exploration Company of the Year - UK Electronic Security Systems Installation Specialist of the Year Growth Award 2014: CEO of the Year - UK Consumer Portfolio of 2014 - UK UK Non Executive Director of 2014 Global Bureau de Change Network of the Year Private Medical Insurance Specialist of the Year - UK Global Networking Specialist of the Year Investment CIO of the Year - UK CHP Supplier of the Year - UK 2014 Growth Award: Business Media Company of the Year - UK Enterprise Cloud Computing Specialist of the Year - UK Customized IT Service Provider of the Year - UK Sustained Excellence in Insurance - UK Business Excellence in Sec Registration - UK Custom Rubber Compounds Specialist of the Year - UK 2014 Business Excellence in Achieving Shareholder Value Business Continuity Training & Services Provider of the Year - UK Customer Profiling Specialist of the Year - UK Global Property Investment Manager of the Year UK Food Supplier of the Year Marketing Consultant of the Year - UK Live Training Events Specialist of the Year - UK Cyber Security Team of the Year - UK UK Digital Power Platform of the Year and Energy & Resources Excellence in Technology Innovation Business Excellence Award 2014 : Self Storage Provider of the Year European Electrical Retail Group of the Year - UK Liquidity Finance Specialist of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Business Community Advice - 2014 Real Estate Investment Vice President of the Year - UK Multi-Disciplined Dental Centre of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Law - UK 2014 Growth Award: Media Package Provider of 2014 - UK Financial Lifetime Achievement Award - UK Logistics Company of the Year - UK Research Software of the Year - UK FinTech PR Firm of the Year - UK Online Retailer of the Year - UK Digital Transaction Management Company of the Year - UK 2014 Large Cap Investor of the Year - 3250 million to R1 billion.

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 83

DRP International DX Group E.I. Sturdza Strategic Management Limited Earth Capital Partners East Lothian Council Easy Continuity Ltd ECONOTHERM EFR Travel Egdon Resources plc EMEA | Russell Investments Emergency Planning College Energy Alpha Strategies Ltd Energy Services Partnership English Heritage Environcom England Ltd Environmental Technologies Fund - ETF Manager LLP Equity Dynamics EY Euro Garages Euronav n.v.

Excalibur Communications Faberge Farley & Thompson LLP Forrest Fletchers Bakeries FSTP Global Ltd Fulcrum Venture Gala Tent Gap Personnel Gate House Bank GI Partners Global Prime Partners Goody Good Stuff GPU (ERG Cabinet Office) Granby Green Investment Bank Green Investment Bank Greencoat UK Wind PLC Grenade H2 Equity Partners Haydale Haystack Dryers HCS Hedgerow Print Heritage International Fund Managers Limited Hewlett Packard HgCapital LLP High Wire Consulting HornbyChapman Hotelplanner.com House of Experience HPB Humber Energy Hummingbird hungryhouse Hyperama Idox IFG Capital Limited IG Doors IKEA FCB Inferno IFDS Inflexion Private Equity Ltd ING Innovia Films Inspired Energy plc Interbrand International Financial Data Services Investec Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group Jarvie Plant Group

Client Focused Business Continuity & Risk Management Firm of the Year - UK Secure Delivery Service Provider of the Year - UK Offshore Vice President of the Year Commercial Risk Adjusted Return Investment Advisor of the Year - UK Council of the Year - UK SME Focused Business Continuity Company of the Year - UK Clean Energy Product of the Year - Endotherm Transatlantic Corporate Travel Expert of the Year Oil & Gas Management Team of the Year - UK Most Respected Global Asset Manager – UAE Training Provider of the Year - UK Family Office Investment Firm of the Year - UK UK Utility Risk Management Firm of 2014 Work Based Training Scheme of 2014 - UK Electrical Re Use & Recycling Specialist of the Year - UK Business Excellence Awards 2014: Environmental Technologies Fund B2B Brand Building Specialist of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Banking Restructuring 2014 UK Petrol Station Operator of the Year Business Excellence in Shipping - UK Business Communication Specialist of the Year - 2014 Sustained Excellence in Creative Design 2014 - UK Stockbroker of the Year - UK Compliance Team of the Year - 2014 CFO of the Year - UK Leadership Potential Development Firm of 2014 2014 Portfolio of the Year - UK and Start Up Investment Firm of the Year - UK Business Excellence In Events Management - 2014 Industrial Labour Providers Specialist of 2014 - UK Islamic Bank of 2014 Business Excellence in UK Private Equity -2014 Business Excellence Award 2014: Integrated Technology Platform of the Year - UK Consumer Entrepreneur of 2014 - UK Programme of 2014 - One Public Estate Data Management Firm of the Year - North West Business Excellence Award 2014: Energy Investment Firm of the Year - UK Sustainable Investments Bank of the Year - UK Renewable Energy Investment Firm of the Year Health Product of the Year - UK Investment Managing Director of the Year - UK Nanomaterial Application Specialist of the Year - UK Body Drying Manufacturing Firm of the Year - UK Direct Hydraulic Production System of the Year - UK Environment Focused Printing Firm of the Year - UK Financial Services MD of the Year - Guernsey Business Excellence in Software Development - UK TMT Team of the Year - UK Private Equity Consultant of the Year - UK Asset Servicing Industry Recruitment Firm of the Year - UK Business Excellence Award 2014: Leisure CEO of the Year - UK Marketing Agency of the Year - UK Innovative investment Product of the Year - Holiday Property Bond Sustained Excellence in Renewable Energy 2014 Physical Metal Investment Products of the Year - UK Technology Entrepreneur of the Year - UK Food Portfolio of the Year - UK Public Sector Software Solutions of the Year - UK Database Technology Provider of 2014 GRP Portfolio Range of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Sustainable Lifestyles UK CEO Appointment of the Year - Frazer Gibney Transfer Agent of the Year - UK International Team of the Year - UK UK PR Company of the Year - Architecture UK Consumer Product of the Year - Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BOPP) and Cellulose films Commercial Energy Procurement Specialist of the Year - UK Brand Creation CEO of the Year - UK Transfer Agent of the year Intermediary Services Provider of the Year - UK Reinsurance Group of the Year - UK Plant Hire Company of the Year - UK

Javelin Group Jaw Bone JMW jumpstart JZ International K2 Business Partners Kanj Technologies Ltd Karen McCormick KB Associates Key BCM Consultancy Limited Keystone Resilience Limited Knight Frank Investment Management Kondor Konetic KPMG Kuvera capital partners Lab 21 Lambert Smith Hampton Land Securities Legal & General Group Plc Leumi ABL Linstar Management Consultancy Lloyds Banking Group plc Lloyds TSB LMS Capital plc LNG Capital Lomond Capital Lomond Capital Love Home Swap M&CSaatchiMerlin Macmillan Macmillan Digital Education Magstim Maintel Manchester Airports Group Manroy Mar City Markco Media Maven Capital Partners UK LLP Maxxia Limited MDNX Meallmore ltd Merrill Corp MetaPack MeteoGroup Methexis MetrasensLtd Midpoint Midwich Limited Milestone Capital Partners LLP MITIE Group PLC ML Capital MMC Ventures Ltd Mobile Promotions MRFS Group MTI ventures My Parcel Delivery NBTY Europe nDreams Network Rail Nicholls & Clarke Group No.1 Traveller Northern Petroleum Novagraaf Octopus Octopus Investment Octopus Investments Odigeo Ophir Energy Osmosis Investment Management LLP Osprey Capital Parklands Group Parseq Peacock Travel Pembroke VCT

Ecommerce & Omni-Channel Retail Consultants of the Year - UK UK Electrical Product of the Year - Mini Jambox Sustained Excellence in Business Development - UK R&D Tax Credits Advisory Firm of the Year - UK European Private Equity Firm of the Year- €3-15m.

Corporate Renewable Specialist of 2014 ROI Driven IT Solutions & Strategy Provider of the Year - UK Most Influential Investment Director of the Year - UK Prime Brokerage Firm of the Year - UK Initial Gap Analysis Specialist of the Year - UK Business Continuity Consultant of the Year - UK Property CEO of the Year - UK Business Growth Managing Director of the Year - UK E- Recruitment CEO of the Year - UK Partner of the Year - UK India Focused Alternative Investment Manager of the Year -UK Medicine Diagnostic Specialist of the Year - UK Commercial Property Consultants of the Year - UK FSTE 100 Listed Commercial Property Company of the Year - UK ROI Driven Managing Director of the Year - UK Asset Based Lending Specialist of the Year - UK Supply Chain Audit Team of the Year - UK UK Finance Team of 2014 Business Unit Control Function Team of the Year - UK UK Consumer Investment Firm of 2014 Mid Market Private Equity Firm of 2014 Business Excellence Award: Dealmakers of 2014 One to watch: CEO of the Year - UK Alternative Travel Specialist of the Year - UK Creative Talent Management Agency of the Year - 2014 Sustained Excellence in Fund Raising - UK Most Influential MD of 2014 - UK Business Excellence in Science - UK UK Telecommunication Provider of the Year Regional Airport of the Year - UK Industrial CEO of 2014 Business Excellence in Urban Regeneration - 2014 Voucher Online & Mobile Content Sourcing Specialist of the Year - UK Scottish Investment Director of the Year Rising Star in Finance - UK Regional IT CEO of the Year - UK Regional Nursing & Residential Care Specialist of the Year - UK Engagement Specialist of the Year - UK Global Ecommerce Delivery Management Platform of the Year - UK Weather Forecasting Services Provider of the Year - UK Secured Lending Specialist of the Year - UK UK Excellence in Innovation - Technology Product Innovation in Forex 2014 Best UK Retail Team of the Year Buy & Build Strategy of 2014 Sustained Excellence in Strategic Outsourcing - UK Alternative Investment Solutions firm of the Year - UK Business Angel Investor of 2014 - UK Client Focused Marketing Firm of the Year - UK Technology Management Team of the Year - UK Investment CFO of the Year - UK Entrepreneur Award 2014 : Best Start Up Health Retail CEO of the Year - UK IT Innovation Award: Business Development Company of the Year - UK 2014 Growth Award: Transportation Network of the Year -UK Building Materials Manufacturing Company of the Year - UK Pre-Flight Services Provider of the Year - UK UK Oil & Gas Deal of the Year - Vermilion acquisition of Northern Petroleum Nederland UK Intellectual Property Lawyer of the Year Rising Star in Investment - UK Small Business Funding Specialist of the Year - UK Venture Team of the Year - UK Global Online Travel Company of the Year Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award - UK Investment Management Team of the Year -UK Enterprise Investor of 2014 Business Excellence in Healthcare - Scotland BPO Partner of the Year - UK Sustained Excellence in Corporate Travel - UK Media & Tech Portfolio of the Year - UK

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84 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Phoenix PMG Property Development Polytherics proAV Ltd Procam Proveca Purplebricks PwC PwC PwC PwC Quintessential Brands Radar Healthcare Radius Systems Rainclear Systems Ltd Randall & Quilter Investment Holdings Ltd RBS Rcapital Partners LLP Red Box Red Box Recorders Red Rock Resources plc Redefine International PLC Redefine International PLC Rentify Resilience Consulting Ltd Rexam Rey Rey Riverside Europe Partners LLP Riverside Europe Partners LLP RKW Robinson PLC Ross Griffin Rosslyn Analytics Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets Rutland Cycling San Leon Energy Sanlam Santander UK plc Santia Consulting Ltd Scarlett Willow Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Scor Secured Mail SEGRO Select Business Finance ServicePower SF Group Sheffield Hallam University Shutl Sinclair Is Pharma Skandia Austria Skyepharma SLG Law LLP Somo Global Sovereign Capital Space Creations Ltd SPARK Impact Spiraxsarco Spirent Spirogen Standard Life Investments Stephenson Harwood Stratex Stratex International plc Succession Advisory Services Sussex Partners UK Limited SWIP Sycamore Aviation Telecity Group Telefonica The Business Continuity Institute The Cambridge Satchel Company

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Hosting & Cloud Services Provider of the Year - UK Commercial Property Developer of the Year - UK Pharmaceuticals Management Team of the Year - UK Most Influential CIO of the Year - UK UK Media Deal of the Year - Procam acquisition of Hammerhead TV Pharmaceutical Company of 2014 UK Real Estate Start Up of the Year Big Four Media Relations Team of the Year - UK Sustained Excellence of Alternative Investment Tax Advice - UK Capital Projects Tax Head of the Year - UK Business Excellence Award 2014: Audit Services Provider of the Year UK Acquisition of the Year - Quintessential Brands acquisition of First Ireland Spirits Company Healthcare Compliance Practice of the Year - UK Innovative Product of the Year - MiniMuss Branch Saddle Technology Metal Rainwater Systems Distributer of the Year - UK Insurance Investment Management Firm of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Banking - UK Growth Funding Specialist of the Year - UK Voice Recording Service Provider of the Year - UK Recording Platform of the Year - UK UK CEO of the Year - Precious Metals UK Commercial Portfolio of the Year - UK Real Estate Investment Trust of the Year -UK Letting Site of 2014 Emergency Planning Consultancy of the Year Global Consumer Packaging Company of the Year - UK IT Company of the Year -UK Recapitalization and LBO Specialist of the Year - UK Recapitalization and LBO Specialist of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Patent Prosecution Manufacturing Sector - Excellence in Innovation & Design - East Midlands Regional Property Firm of the Year - UK Cloud Data Management & Analytics Specialist of 2014 Sustained Excellence in Capital Markets - UK Retail Family Owned Business of the Year - UK Energy Exploration & Production Company of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Product Innovation Most Trusted UK Bank of the Year Health Risk Management Consultancy of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Kitchen and Dining Online 2014 Property Head of the Year- 2013 Global Reinsurance Company of 2014 - UK North West Entrepreneur of 2014 Income-Focused REIT of 2014 - UK Business Excellence in Commercial Finance 2014 Group Finance Director Appointment of the Year - Tajinder Sandhu UK Small Business of the Year - Recruitment Business Excellence in Education - UK Excellence in Online Retail Innovation - UK Pharma Growth Strategy of the Year - UK Integrated Wealth Solutions Provider of the Year - UK Expert Drug Delivery Company of the Year - UK Businesswoman of 2014 - UK and UK Emerging Law Firm of the Year Growth Focused Company of the Year - UK Business Excellence in the UK Buy & Build Sector Business Excellence in Property Development - UK Business Excellence in Early-Stage Venture Capital - 2014 UK Niche Manufacturing Businesses of 2014 Most Respected CEO of 2014 - UK Regional Biotechnology CEO of the Year Asset Management CEO of the Year - UK Lawyer of the Year - UK Regional Mining CFO of the Year - UK Business Excellence in Mining - 2014 UK Advisory Team of 2014 and UK Investment Matrix of 2014 Hedge Fund Advisory Management Team of the Year - UK UK Head of the Year - Media Business Excellence in Aircraft Recycling - 2014 Secure Data Centre Provider of the Year - UK UK New Business Development Director of the Year Most Respected Training Resource of 2014 Retail Entrepreneur of the Year - UK

The Consulting Consortium Limited (TCC) The Garden Centre Group The Gym Group The House Collection The Innovation Group The Restaurant Choice The Shield Group / TOPSGRUP The Training Room Top Right Group Towry Tradebe TransferWise TRYZENS Group T-Systems Limited Tufton Oceanic Tuia Group Tyres On The Drive Ubisense Group PLC Ubiquigent Ltd Unilever Ventures Universities Superannuation Scheme Ltd Urquhart Partnership Vasari Vega-Chi Virgin Wines VocaLink Volume Ltd Wagstaff & Associates Ltd WAY Fund Managers West London Waste Authority Westhouse Securities Whitley Stimpson Wollen Michelmore LLP Wolters Kluwer Financial Services Wood Group WorldRemit Xcite Energy Limited YouGov Ukraine Damco Dentons Engarde Ltd Euroventures Ukraine ILF Integrites Lavrynovych & Partners SP Advisors USA ABLE Alpha Trading Ltd Abundance Partners LP AC Marketing & PR Ace International Hotel Brokerage Advanced Capital Securities AFS Technologies, Inc Agecroft Partners AirWatch Akamai Technologies AlliedWallet - Andy Khawaja, CEO AllOver Media American Realty Capital Properties Inc American Realty Investors, LP AmpliPhi Bioscience Corporation Anadarko Petroleum Andlinger & Co. Anthem Capital Applied Systems Arthur Bell, Certified Public Accountants

Most Respected Businesswoman of the Year - UK and UK Emerging Financial Company of the Year Plant & Garden Centre Retailer of the Year Growth Award 2014: Leisure Firm of the Year - UK Boutique Hotel Group of the Year - UK Insurance Business Process Service Provider of 2014 Client Choice Award: Restaurant Voucher Scheme of 2014 Security Services Entrepreneur of the Year -UK Most Trusted Training Provider of the Year - UK High Value Businesses Sponsor of the Year - UK UK Wealth Adviser of 2014 Hazardous Waste Disposal Management Services of the Year - UK CEO to Watch - UK Multi-Channel Retail Solutions Provider of the Year - UK Telecoms Solution Provider of the Year - 2014 Sustained Excellence in Fund Management 2014 European Travel Group of the Year 2014 Consumer Award: Mobile Tyre Fitting Service of the Year - UK Global Enterprise Location Intelligence Innovator of the Year - UK Drug Discovery Assay Development Firm of 2014 Entrepreneur Choice Award: Early Stage VC Firm of the Year - UK Pension Scheme of the Year - UK HR Consultancy of the Year - Scotland Multi Asset Team of the Year - UK Global Multilateral Trading Facility of 2014 Online Wine Retailer of the Year- 2014 Real Time Payments Specialist of the Year - 2014 Marcoms Agency of 2014 Operational Risk and Resilience Specialist of 2014 Client Choice Award: Fund Hosting Services Provider of 2014 Business Excellence in Waste Management -2014 Equity Sales Specialist of 2014 Business Excellence in Recycling - UK Commercial Litigation Team of the Year -2014 Global Information Services Provider of the Year Power Generation Service Provider of the Year - UK Money Transfer Specialist of the Year - UK UK CEO of the Year - Resources Public Opinion Research Company of 2014 Supply Chain Management Service Provider of the Year - Ukraine Legal Business Excellence Award - Ukraine Dispute Resolution Law Firm of the Year - the Ukraine Private Equity Fund of the Year - Ukraine Law Firm of the Year - Ukraine Domestic and International Business Law Firm of the Year - the Ukraine Deal of the Year - SP Advisors acquisition of stake in BIA - Ukraine Businesswoman of the Year - New York Investment Focused Management Team of the Year - New York Marketing & PR Firm of the Year - California International Hospitality Brokerage Firm of the Year - USA Sales & Trading Support Firm of the Year - USA Retail Focussed Technology Solution Provider of the Year - USA Hedge Fund Marketing Firm of the Year - USA Excellence in Telecommunications Innovation - USA Web Solutions Firm of the Year - USA Customized Payment Solutions Provider of the Year - USA US Based CFO of the Year - Advertising Most Diverse Real Estate Portfolio of the Year - USA Returns Focussed Real Estate Firm of the Year - USA Biopharmaceutical Company of the Year - USA US Management Team of the Year - Energy & Resources International Private Investment & Management Firm of the Year - USA Commitment to Early Stage Investing - USA Insurance Sector CEO of the Year - USA Alternative Investment Accountants of the Year - USA

2014 Business Excellence Awards | 85

Arthur J. Gallagher& Co Asia West Funds Askan / Kocanaogullari Law Office AstraQom Ata Ventures Audax Group Audience Fuel Avery Dennison Corporation Avis Budget Group Axiom Venture Partners LP Babson Capital Management LLC Babson Capital Management LLC Bay Area Youth Services, Inc. Beleveder Capital Boyne Capital Partners LLC Brazos Private Equity Partners Bridgewater Associates, LP BVM Cap Calvert Street Capital Partners CantorFitzgerald Cap Coverage Cardinal Energy Group Cardinal Energy Group, Inc. Carex Cassel Salpeter & Co Catalyst Financial Partners Cemtrex Cendyn Cendyn Chicago Growth Partners Chickasaw Nation Industries Chubb Insurance Company of Europe Click Security CME Group Community Bank NA Compensation Solutions Continental Motors Conversocial Cool Planet Energy Systems CORESITE Cousins Chipman & Brown Crestwood CurAlea Associates LLC Data Vail Dell Ventures Depomed DFJ Gotham Ventures Diageo Latin America & Caribbean, LLC Direct Energy dLife Dove Tail Insurance Drake Energy Dydacomp Eagle Creek Renewable Energy Eagle View Egalet Corporation Elevate Services, Inc. EMC EMC Emergent BioSolutions Emerging Manager, LLC Emil Capital Endo Health EndoChoice Inc. Envision Pharmaceutical Services, Inc. Enzymatics

International Risk Management Firm of the Year - USA Cross-Border Management Consulting Firm of the Year - USA Business Planning Specialist of the Year: USA US CEO of the Year - Telecommunications Seed Capital Provider of the Year - USA Buy & Build Strategy Excellence Award - USA Traffic Acquisition Specialists of the Year - USA Labelling Firm of the Year - USA Sustainability Focused Automobile Brand of the Year - Zipcar Venture Investors of the Year - USA Commitment to Advanced Investment Solutions - USA Commitment to Advanced Investment Solutions - USA 2014 Non Profit Company of the Year - USA US Chairman of the Year - Real Estate Ongoing Commitment to Middle Market Investment - USA Private Equity Firm of the Year - Texas Investment Industry Innovator - USA Expansion Stage Equity Provider of the Year - USA Excellence in Lower Middle Market Private Equity - USA Capital Markets Investment Bank of the Year - USA Business Insurance Broker of the Year - USA Most Environmentally Responsible Oil & Gas Company of the Year - USA Oil & Gas Management Team of the Year - Ohio Healthcare Deal of the Year: ThermiPaq Hot/Cold Therapy Brand & Assets Domestic Investment Banking Firm of the Year - USA Ongoing Commitment to Alternative Asset Investing - USA Environmental Solutions Firm of the Year - USA Hospitality Marketer of the Year - USA Hotel Digital Marketing Agency of the Year - USA Relationship Focussed Growth Company of the Year - USA Corporate Social Responsibility Excellence Award - USA Insurance Excellence Award - New Jersey Cyber Security Firm of the Year - USA Most Trusted & Diverse Derivatives Marketplace of the Year North Eastern USA Bank of the Year Professional Employer Organisation of the Year - USA Aircraft Engine Manufacturer of the Year - USA Most Innovative Customer Service Platform of the Year - USA Most Sustainable Technology Company of the Year - USA Cloud-Enabled Data Center of the Year - USA Boutique Corporate Counsellors of the Year - USA Sustainable Growth Focussed Energy Firm of the Year - USA Risk & Due Diligence Advisory Firm of the Year - USA Commitment to Information Technology Excellence - USA Growth-Stage Investor of the Year - USA Commitment to Excellence in Pain Management & CNS Therapies - USA IT Start-Up VC Firm of the Year - USA Brand Portfolio of the Year - UK Home Services Energy Firm of the Year - USA Excellence in Healthcare Innovation - USA Insurance Excellence Award - South Carolina Best Corporate Citizen in the Energy Sector - USA Business Automation Software Firm of the Year - USA Excellence In Hydro Power - USA Most Influential CEO of the Year -USA US CEO of the Year - Pharmaceuticals Legal Support Services Firm of the Year - USA Managed Services Provider of the Year - USA IT Focussed Business Transformation Firm of the Year - USA Deal of the Year - Emergent BioSolutions Acquisition of Cangene Corporation - USA Manager Sourcing Service Provider of the Year - USA Excellence in Private Investments - Connecticut Global Specialty Healthcare Company of the Year - USA Medical Technology Company of the Year - USA Commitment to Transparency in Pharmaceuticals - USA Genomic Healthcare Firm of the Year - USA

Essex Technology Group Euclidanalytics Exalt Integrated Tech Exalt Integrated Technologies LLC Eze Castle Integration FeedZai Fifth Street Management LLC Finesa Real Estate Group First Stop Health Fletcher Spaght Ventures Flotek Forex Capital Markets LLC Franchise Services of North America Inc Freeway Insurance Services, Inc. Frumerman & Nemeth Inc. FTS International Fund Tax Services, LLC (FTS) Fusion GA Telesis Gen Nextmedia Gettinderbox Gibson Brands, Inc. Gild Glo Stuart Page, Glori Energy Inc. Gray & Company Greenfields Petroleum Corporation GRUPARA Inc. GSI Group inc Hankey Investment Co HarbertManagement Corporation HarbourVest Partners (Asia) Ltd Harren Equity Partners HEICO Heico High Street Capital Hill International Inc Hill Intl Hoover Group, Inc. HourlyNerd HP I and S Commercial Finance, Inc Icrinc ICV Partners, LLC Integrated Prescription Management INVESCO Private Capital Inc. Investor Analytics iPipeline Iris Technology J. Knipper and Company, Inc. J. Knipper and Company, Inc. Jaymie Scotto & Associates (JSA) Juridica K2M Group Holdings Kazarosian Costello & O’Donnell Kessler International Kite Realty Group Kstone Partners LanzaTech LeaseWeb USA Light Sail Energy Lineage Capital Link Share LLOG Exploration LMGPR Lockheed Martin Lone Star New Markets LP LP Amina Mach 1 Development Madison Alley Global Main Street Capital

Commitment to Reducing Business Risk - USA Commitment to Retail Software - USA Excellence in IT Innovation - USA IT Team of the Year - USA Investment Industry Technology Solution Provider of the Year - USA Enterprise Software Provider of the Year - USA Alternative Asset Management Business Excellence Award - USA Real Estate Focussed Private Equity Firm of the Year - USA Most Effective Social Media Campaign Specialist - USA Balanced-Stage Venture Capital Firm of the Year - USA Drilling Technologies Firm of the Year - USA FOREX Broker of the Year -USA Rental Car Franchisor of the Year - USA Excellence in Auto Insurance - USA Overall Marketing Company of the Year - USA Completion Services Resources Firm of the Year - USA Ongoing Commitment to Taxation Issues in Alternative Investment - USA Cloud Solutions Firm of the Year - New York Aerospace Business Excellence Award - USA National to Local Marketers of the Year - USA B2B Sales Software Provider of the Year - USA Most Desired Musical Brand - USA Excellence in Social Recruiting - USA Most Innovative Producer of Nanotechnology Oil & Gas Sector CEO of the Year - USA Excellence in Investment Solutions Award - USA Oil & Gas Sector Management Team of the Year - USA Indonesian Start-Up Incubator of the Year Leading Supplier to the Medical Industry - USA Subprime Auto Lender of the Year - USA Private & Public Market Strategists of the Year - USA Fund of Funds of the Year - USA Middle Market Equity Provider of the Year - USA Technology Focused Aerospace & Defence Firm of the Year - USA Commitment to Innovation in Aerospace - USA Business Builders of the Year - USA Construction Focussed Professional Services Firm of the Year - USA Construction Claim Specialist of the Year - USA Liquid Packaging Company of the Year - USA Most Innovative Consultancy Firm of the Year - USA Global Program Manager of the Year - the USA Commercial Finance Consultant of the Year - USA Commitment to Financial Communications Consultancy - USA Multi-Cultural PE Firm of the Year - USA PBM Provider of the Year - USA Commitment to Excellence in Customized Portfolios - USA Risk Management Platform of the Year - USA Insurance Industry Solutions Firm of the Year - USA Military Focussed Technology Developer of the Year - USA US Direct Marketing Firm of the Year - Pharmaceuticals Commitment to Excellence in Pharmaceuticals & Life Sciences Telecoms Focused Marketer of the Year – USA Litigation Funding Firm of the Year - USA Excellence in Spinal Innovation - USA Commitment to Consumer Law - USA Brand Protection Specialists of the Year -USA Innovation in Real Estate Investment Award - USA Most Trusted Alternative Asset Management Company of the Year - USA Cleantech Corporation of the Year - USA Growth Focused Hosting Provider of the Year - USA Commitment to Excellence in Renewable Energy - USA Owner-Managed Investment Firm of the Year - USA USA Overall CEO of the Year - Telecoms Deepwater Exploration Company of the Year - USA Most Innovative PR & Communications Firm of the Year - USA Advanced Technology Corporation of the Year - USA Community Focussed Private Equity Firm of the Year - Texas Engineering Visionary of the Year - USA Security Technology Solutions Company of the Year - USA M&A Advisory Firm of the Year - USA Commitment to Responsible Investing - USA

www.acquisition-intl.com

86 | 2014 Business Excellence Awards

Mainstreet MaintenX Managed Pressure Operations (MPO) Marriott International Mason Wells Maxey Law Offices, PLLC MCP Exchangeco Inc. MedImmune Medimmune Mendix Mercatus, Inc Mercer MGC Diagnostics Microsoft MIK Fund Services Mohican Financial Management, LLC Mohr Davidow Ventures MoolaHoop MSF Capital Advisors Muller & Monroe Asset Management, LLC Natcore Technology Navidea Pharmaceuticals naviGATE Corp Newport Wealth Management NEXMO Nielsen NIKE Inc Noble Investment Group Noel Group Northwestern Mutual Capital Novantas Nuclea Biotechnologies Oaktree Capital Management Olson Open Gate Capital Pan Reliance Capital Advisors Panegyric Marketing Parature Parthenon Capital Partners Payvia PDL BioPharma Pfingsten Partners LLC Phenomenex Pierce Atwood Planned Systems International Plant Syence PNC Review Pre Play Sports Presbia Primus Power PrincipalGlobal Investors prosource Proven Management LLC Pwc Quinpario Acquisition Corp Quintessential Financial & Insurance Services Redmond Worldwide Rennovia Respicardia, Inc. Revolution Search Partners RFE Investment Partners RISK-AI LLC Rockwell Collins Ruby Ribbon Sachs Media Group Sagicor Life Insurance Company Saints Capital Sansone Development Sard Verbinnen & Co Schultze Asset Management, LLC SellPoint SimpliVity Corp

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Real Estate Focused Investment Company of the Year - USA Total Facility Management Firm of the Year - USA Managed Pressure Operations Firm of the Year - USA Business Excellence in Hospitality - USA Packaging Focussed PE firm of the Year - USA Excellence in IP Award - USA Excellence in Mining Innovation - USA Business Excellence in Healthcare - USA Medical Company of the Year - Maryland IT Focussed Entrepreneur of the Year - USA Energy Finance Solutions Provider of the Year - USA Employee Focused Global Consulting Firm of the Year - USA Cardiorespiratory Technology Firm of the Year - USA Principal Program Management Team of the Year - USA Asset Management Software Developers of the Year - USA Non-Traditional Alternative Investments Firm of the Year - USA New Technology Venture Capital Firm of the Year - USA Crowd Funding Platform of the Year - the USA Wealth Preservation Firm of the Year - USA Emerging Manager Focussed PE Firm of the Year - USA Innovation in Solar Technology - USA Excellence in Drug Development Award - USA Strategy Implementation Firm of the Year - USA Family Office Advisory Firm of the Year - USA Business Excellence Award in Cloud Computing - USA Consumer Know How Firm of the Year - USA Excellence in Global Innovation - USA Hospitality Focussed Investment Firm of the Year - USA Sustainability Through Innovation Award - USA Asset Management Firm of the Year - USA Analytics and Advisory Firm of the Year - North America Business Development COO of the Year - USA Excellence in Investing Award - USA Most Innovative Digital Agency of the Year - USA Revitalization Focussed Investment Firm of the Year - USA Privately-Owned Investment Manager of the Year - USA Marketing Communications Firm of the Year - USA Customer Service Software Provider of the Year - USA Private Equity Firm of the Year - California Innovation in Mobile Marketing - USA Innovation in Biopharma - USA Long-Term Value Creation Private Equity Firm of the Year - USA Chromatography Focused R&D Firm of the Year - USA Best Regional Law Firm - USA IT Company of the Year - USA US Life science Deal of the Year - INTX Microbials Subordinated Debt Specialists of the Year - USA Most Innovative CEO of the Year - Gaming Technology Excellence in Ophthalmology - USA US CEO of the Year - Energy & Resources Excellence in Business Owner Solutions - USA Fastest Growing Office Solutions Firm of the Year - USA Facilities Management & Relocation Firm of the Year - USA Global Partner of the Year - Multinational Tax Issues Business Turnaround Firm of the Year - USA Investment Account Managers of the Year - USA Business Risk Assessors of the Year - USA Bio-Renewable Chemicals Firm of the Year - USA Excellence in Cardiovascular Therapies Innovation - USA Financial Services Recruitment Firm of the Year - USA Small Buy-Out Investment Firm of the Year - USA Hedge Fund Risk Management Firm of the Year - USA Aviation Electronic Solutions Firm of the Year - USA Most Innovative Online Retailer of the Year - USA Public Affairs PR Firm of the Year - Florida Excellence in Life Insurance - USA Commitment to Secondary Transactions - USA Real Estate Services Firm of the Year - Nevada Corporate Positioning Business Excellence Award - USA Distressed Securities Specialist of the Year - USA Online Sales Specialists of the Year - USA Client Focussed IT Firm of the Year - USA

YeahMobi Zions Bancorporation

Mobile Solutions Provider of the Year - USA PR Communications Firm of the Year - Illinois Innovation in Dentistry Award - USA Innovation in Science & Engineering Award - USA Information Industry PE Firm of the Year - USA Bioinformatics Software Provider of the Year - USA Recruitment Rising Star - USA International Staffing Firm of the Year - USA Corporate Citizen of the Year - USA Fund Focussed Management Team of the Year - USA IT Focussed CEO of the Year - USA Smart Parking Solution Firm of the Year - USA Buy & Build Investment Firm of the Year - USA Component Solutions Specialist of the Year - USA Business Continuity Management Software Provider of the Year - USA STP Solutions Firm of the Year - USA Commitment to Retail Quality Award - USA Export-Import Bank of the Year - USA Digital Marketing Platform of the Year - USA and SME Digital Marketer of the Year - USA Reward Solutions Products of the Year - USA Commitment to Stakeholder Management - USA Consumer Private Equity Firm of the Year - USA Imaging Specialist of the Year - USA Most Innovative Financial Solutions Firm of the Year - USA Electrical Contractors of the Year: North Eastern USA Global Wealth Management Firm of the Year Customer Focussed Fund Administrator of the Year - USA Innovation in Communications Award - USA Social Operating Platform of the Year - USA Commitment to Private Wealth Consultancy - USA Software Product of the Year - Clickability Cannabis Industry Innovator of the Year - USA Independent Valuation Services Firm of the Year - New York Medical Support Firm of the Year - USA Innovation in Orthopaedics Healthcare - USA Veteran-Owned Small Business of the Year - USA Video Advertising Platform of the Year - USA Fast Growth Product of the Year - Virool Complete Solution Center of the Year- USA Home Security Company of the Year - USA Innovation In Renewable Energy Award - USA Industrial Online Retailer of the Year - USA Innovation in Automobile Technology Award - USA Business Continuity Planner of the Year - USA Hospitality Interior Design Firm of the Year - USA Portfolio Advisory of the Year - USA Excellence in Infrastructure Design - USA Real Estate Investment Trust of the Year - USA Commitment to Enterprise Data Management - USA Consumer Focused Marketer of the Year - USA Commitment to Excellence in Software Development - USA Supply Chain Management Company of the Year - USA Overseas Mobile Marketer of the Year - USA SBA Lending Financial Services Firm of the Year - USA

Vanuatu Department of Lands, Surveys & Records

Business Excellence Award 2014: Vanuatu

SinglePoint, Inc Smart PRCommunications Sonendo SP Systems Inc. Spectrum Equity Investors Spiral Genetics Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. Staffing 360 Solutions Inc. State Street Corporation Strategic Fund Services, LLC StreamLink Software Streetline Inc Strength Capital STS Component Solutions Sungard Availability Services Sungard Canada LTD Susser Holdings Corp SVB Capital Swiftpage Tango Card(TM) Taylor Rafferty Tengram Capital Partners Tonbo Imaging TransCard Tru-Val Electric Corp UBS UMB Fund Services Unified Inbox Unified Social United Capital Upland Software USEI Cannabis Valuation Research Corporation (VRC) Valued Relationships VB Vets Inc Videology Virool Inc. VirTex Vivint Vivint Solar W.W. Grainger Inc WABCO Holdings Whiting Risk Consulting Wilson Associates Wingspan Portfolio Advisors WPCS WPT Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust x Plusone x+1 Xamarin XPO Logistics

Vietnam Price Waterhouse Coopers VCI Legal

Business Excellence Award - Vietnam In-house Counsel Services Firm of the Year - Vietnam