Non-executive director awards 2027 open for nominations

Nominations opened today for the 2027 Non-Executive Director Awards, the annual programme run by the investment bank Peel Hunt and supported by The Sunday Times. Entries close on 8 November and the winners will be announced at a ceremony on 18 March 2027.

Next year’s edition will be the 21st. The awards were founded by Peel Hunt in 2006 to “recognise the achievements of non-executive directors who contribute daily to the success and growth of businesses”.

There are eight categories: FTSE 100 chair; FTSE 100 Ned; FTSE All-Share; FTSE Aim; private/private equity-backed; not-for-profit/public service organisation; the Dame Helen Alexander Ned to Watch; and lifetime achievement.

A shortlist will be published in early February. The awards website gives the shortlist date as 7 February 2027 and the ceremony as 18 March 2027, and lists Alvarez & Marsal, Audeliss, Board Intelligence, the CBI and Santander among the supporters of the programme alongside Peel Hunt and The Sunday Times.

Who is judging

The judging panel includes Steven Fine, chief executive of Peel Hunt; Paul Walker, chair of Relx; and Lesley-Ann Nash, non-executive director at the Confederation of British Industry. It will be chaired by Tim Score, the chairman of Bridgepoint Group.

Fine said: “This is an opportunity to highlight the biggest contributors to governance, best practice and stewardship in one of the most challenging periods of recent times.”

He said the challenges with geopolitics, rising interest rates and bond yields, plus the rise of AI, had kept boardrooms busy in the past year.

Research published in 2024 by The IN Group found that more than half of the senior executives it surveyed regarded artificial intelligence as the biggest direct threat to their organisation, and that 62 per cent planned to prioritise hiring AI specialists in response.

“I’m looking forward to a great selection of nominees to choose from, and I encourage everybody to nominate who they genuinely believe has added to governance, best practice and stewardship,” Fine added.

Who won last time

Last year’s winners included George Culmer, chair of Aviva; Tanuj Kapilashrami, Ned at Sainsbury’s; Leslie Van de Walle, board chair and Ned at the food manufacturer Greencore; and Karen Frank, chair of trustees and Ned at British Heart Foundation.

The lifetime achievement award went to Archie Norman, the M&S chairman and former chief executive and chairman of Asda.

Peel Hunt’s account of the 20th awards, held at Claridge’s in central London, also records Alys Carlton of the Football Association of Wales as the Dame Helen Alexander Ned to Watch, Ilse Howling of Frontier Developments in the FTSE Aim category, and Nicholas Thain of Amerge in the private and private equity-backed category.

The awards cover listed, private and not-for-profit boards. When the shortlist for the 2024 awards was published, it spanned FTSE 100, FTSE All-Share and FTSE Aim companies alongside private equity-backed firms and not-for-profit organisations, with the ceremony held at Claridge’s.

Nominations for the 2027 awards are submitted through the awards platform at nedawards.co.uk. They close on 8 November, with the shortlist due in early February and the winners named on 18 March 2027.

About the author

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Amy Ingham

Amy Ingham is a reporter at Business Matters, covering UK business news with a focus on breaking news, business policy, late payments and insolvency. She joined the magazine in 2026 after completing the NCTJ Diploma in Journalism at Harlow College’s journalism school. Her recent reporting includes British Steel’s nationalisation and its impact on SME suppliers, the decline in late payments by large firms, and Insolvency Service director disqualifications. Reach her at aingham@cbmeg.co.uk.