NORTH-EAST businesswoman and entrepreneur Jeanette Forbes OBE has been shortlisted as a finalist in the Female Entrepreneur of the Year category in this year’s national Forward Ladies Awards.
Now in their 13th year, Forward Ladies Leadership Summit and Awards honour the impact of female leadership, innovation and entrepreneurism in business. They showcase the achievements of women breaking barriers across the public and private sectors, recognising their contribution to inspiring the next generation of leaders.
Finalists in the 15 categories have been drawn from nominees from right across the country and represent a wide range of business sectors. The winners will be announced during the summit which takes place in London in November.
“It is a huge honour to be shortlisted as a finalist in a pool of incredibly talented and inspirational women from across the UK,” said Jeanette. “The role which women play in starting up and leading companies which make such a huge positive impact on our economy should never be underestimated.
“We still have some way to go in breaking through the glass ceiling completely, but events such as this which continue to raise the profile of women as successful business leaders are helping push through that boundary.”
Also this month, Jeanette was named as one to watch in Business Women Scotland’s list of top 100 female entrepreneurs.
Conferred with honorary degrees from both of Aberdeen’s universities earlier this year, Dr Forbes founded her first business, PCL Group, in 2000. The company, which provides a full range of information technology services, has grown year on year and now services clients in 27 countries across five sectors.
In 2017, she founded her second business, Aberdeen’s multi-award-winning Grape & Grain wine bar and she is currently working on another project Mediterranean, a deli and bistro, due to open in the New Year.
She holds senior management positions in two other young companies, as CEO of Blue Gentoo and a Director of OMMICA, both of which are involved in developing ground-breaking technology for new Energy Tech and Net Zero sectors.
Over the years, Jeanette has won many national awards and industry accolades which recognise her role as a respected business leader, serial entrepreneur and mentor and her commitment to encouraging and promoting career opportunities for women in energy and technology. In 2020, she was presented with an OBE for services to Business, Technology and Charity.
