Presenter and broadcaster Zara Janjua will take the stage to welcome attendees to the awards when they take place at Dalston Hall on November 29. This year’s awards will offer a fresh atmosphere and new entertainment for guests, including an after-show party featuring a DJ, sax player and casino following the awards ceremony. The awards categories have been refreshed as well, with the category of Best Marketeer widened to include marketing teams, rather than individuals.
Nominees will also be vying to win two new categories; Best Green Business and Best Diversity and Inclusion Business. This is in addition to 10 existing categories and the highly-prized Robin Burgess Lifetime Contribution to Cumbria award. Headline sponsor for the awards is NRL and category sponsors are BAE Systems, The Cumberland, David Allen, Cartmell Shepherd, Rachael Bell Wealth Management, Lamont Pridmore, React Engineering, University of Cumbria and 32 West.
As an award-winning presenter and broadcaster host Zara’s career has spanned everything from journalism to stand-up comedy and she has worked in a wide range of TV, film, and radio. A writer, producer and filmmaker, she has worked on ITV’s This Morning, sits on the ethnicity advisory council for NatWest Bank, played a journalist in ITV’s Karren Pirrie and films humanitarian documentaries all over the world, including presenting programmes from Guatemala to the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania. Zara also has a strong connection to Cumb.