Tributes to 'best businesses in the world '

Organisations highlighted in the Chambers ' annual awards last night had shown the “resilience, innovation and determination ” that makes the Greater Birmingham business community the “best in the world ”.

Those were the words of Henrietta Brealey (pictured) when she launched last night 's Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce (GBCC) event, beamed live online from Chamber House.

She said: “It 's been a year like no other. We 've seen heartbreak and struggle. Some personal and private, some public with lives and livelihoods lost.

“But we 've also seen so much of what makes our local business community, in my - admittedly slightly biased - opinion, the best in the world.

“This has been shown in resilience, innovation and determination and the power of our networks to support each other with an ability to turn adversity into an opportunity and make a real difference.

“All across Greater Birmingham businesses have stepped up in their local communities, for their staff, for their customers and for the people and places that mean so much to them.

“And while challenges remain� I know that we have all the ingredients that we need right here across the region to keep pushing on to one exciting future.

“The organisations highlighted in tonight 's awards demonstrate just some of the ways businesses have shown excellence in their fields. ”

GBCC president Steve Allen said that as a region “we 've just come through one of the most horrendous periods in our history. What was unimaginable a couple of years ago saw many of us loose friends and loved ones to Covid-19 ”.

He added: “For the business community the last couple of years has been particularly challenging. The West Midlands was the hardest hit region in the UK certainly during the first wave of Covid-19 with a 21 per cent drop in output compared with 18.8 per cent nationally.

“Here at the Chamber we rose to the challenge of supporting our members and businesses across the region with speed and purpose.

“I 'd particularly like to pay tribute to our policy team led by Henrietta Brealey in her previous role, who not only guided our members through the ever developing myriad of government policy but lobbied national and local stakeholders to address crucial gaps in government support in order to ensure that as few as possible of our regional businesses didn 't fall through those gaps.

“I 'd also like to pay tribute to the team at Birmingham City Council who throughout the pandemic have worked hand-in-glove with the Chamber to get support to those who need it as soon as possible. ”

Mr Allen thanked Paul Faulkner for his “outstanding ” tenure as chief executive and for his ongoing commitment to our region. “His legacy is a respected and relevant Chamber, financially secure and fit for purpose as we now look to the future.

“And with our new chief executive Henrietta Brealey at the helm, I am confident that the Chamber will go from strength to strength. What could be more appropriate for Birmingham, which has the youngest population of any major city in Europe, to have such a young, vibrant leader committed to driving business forward in our city region?

“I 'd also like to thank our chair, David Waller, who out of the public eye, has given steadfast support and invaluable advice and guidance to the whole Chamber team during what has been one of the toughest periods for our members in our 200 plus year history. ”

Check out our image gallery from awards night here.

Watch the event again here.