Employee wellbeing advocate shortlisted for Veuve Clicquot Bold Awards

Francesca Brady, founder of AirRated who advocates for employee wellbeing and cleaner air in the workplace has been named as a finalist in Veuve Clicquot’s Future Awards, the international awards programme celebrating businesswomen. Previous winners include Professor Dame Sarah Gilbert, the inventor of the Oxford AstraZeneca COVID vaccine and Jo Whitfield, CEO of Co-Op Food. Francesca’s work highlights the dangers of a polluted workplace, as research shows the link between pollution, cognitive decline, dementia and poor employee wellbeing and mental health.

The Bold Woman Award celebrates outstanding achievements by inspirational women with a proven track record of institutional and personal success. The finalists selected by the esteemed panel of judges are:

• Elaine Bedell – Elaine is the CEO of the Southbank Centre, London’s renowned creative hub and the UK’s 5th most visited attraction. As the first female CEO in the Southbank Centre’s 66-year history, Elaine has continued to protect investment, resulting in 40% of events being free to attend. She has also brought in new income streams, hosting popular cultural events including the BAFTA Awards and BFI’s London Film Festival.
• Jenny Biggam – Jenny founded the7stars in 2005 and swiftly turned it into the UK’s largest independent media agency, managing over £450m of billings for clients including Gousto, TSB, H&M, Nintendo and Royal Mail. Under Jenny’s leadership, the7stars has been named one of the top companies to work for by Best Companies for ten consecutive years and has also won Campaign’s Independent Media Agency of the Year 2023 and Campaign’s Best Places To Work: Top 5 Large Companies Winner 2023.
• Tracy Blackwell – Tracy is the CEO of Pension Insurance Corporation (PIC), a specialist insurance company which pays the pensions of 350,000 people. Tracy co-founded PIC in 2006, and under her leadership PIC has grown into a FTSE100-sized company, with a portfolio of £45 billion, of which about £12 billion is invested in the UK’s infrastructure.

The Bold Future Award recognises and celebrates ambitious up-and-coming female entrepreneurs. The finalists chosen from a field of hundreds of applicants were:

• Francesca Brady – Francesca is the co-founder and CEO of AirRated, an organisation that certifies indoor air quality, providing AirScores to buildings in which we live, work and play. The AirScore is designed to provide peace of mind about our indoor spaces and communicate indoor air health to everyone. Francesca has gained recognition from Forbes 30 under 30 for heightening awareness of the link between indoor air quality and employee wellbeing.
• Lyndsey Simpson – Lyndsey is the founder and CEO of 55/Redefined, champion for the over-50s. Challenging the status quo, Lyndsey advocates for age diversity, positivity and inclusion across all areas of life through three pillars.  Life/Redefined and Jobs/Redefined empowers the over-50s with jobs from age-inclusive employers, inspirational stories and lifestyle content. And Work/Redefined enables businesses to attract, grow and engage with over-50s talent. Lyndsey is on a mission to change the world of work and the perception of lived experience, in light of the ageing population.

The Bold Woman and Bold Future awards judge candidates on whether they uphold Madame Clicquot’s legacy of courageous female boldness. The Awards date back to 1805. Assessing four key areas, the panel decides on the shortlist based on whether the nominee successfully reinvents traditions, demonstrates entrepreneurial daring, champions better representation of female leaders and maintains an ethical approach to business.

Veuve Clicquot has also launched a Bold Open Database, the first global, open and innovative database, aimed to bring together female entrepreneurs worldwide. Designed with a scientific, economic and social approach, the Bold Open Database brings visibility to a previously unseen group, a source of data surrounding female entrepreneurs and their businesses for investors, journalists and fellow founders.

For more information on the Bold Open Database, visit: https://www.boldopendatabase.com/en