Marios Poumpouris Wins IoD Director of the Year 2011

Marios Poumpouris has been crowned "Director of the Year 2011" in the category for businesses up to £4.99 million turnover, at the Institute of Directors (IoD) London and the South East Director of the Year Awards held on 29th March 2012.

The whole Chiller Box team were there to support him and we all enjoyed the glittering Awards Cermony and Gala Dinner at the stunning Landmark Hotel in Marylebone, W1.

Marios had in fact been nominated in two categories, also being up for "Young Director of the Year".  Nerves set in a little after the first announcement, but we were confident and the team rose to their feet to cheer and congratulate him when he was announced joint winner of "Director of the Year" in his category, along with Sonja Wood of Ecosan. It was also inspiring to be in the company of industry heavweights such as Alastair Storey, Director of WSH Limited (foodservice and hospitality) who received the accolade for businesses in the £100 million and over category.

The event was hosted by Emma Crosby (TV presenter of Channel Five News) and Gyles Brandreth won the hearts of the crowd with his cheeky and entertaining Keynote speech peppered with anecdotes of his time as a former MP.  In addressing the Directors who were nominated he made particular reference to the strength and determination of such individuals and their passion and committment towards turning the economy around. He also likened the general atmosphere of the event and relationships between team members to that of a close family as opposed to a business networking event - sentiments truly seconded by all at Chiller Box.

The black tie gala dinner was a very memorable occasion for the whole Chiller Box team - Marios Poumpouris (MD), Michael Michael (Ops Director), Corina Darnborough (Online Marketing Manager), Anna Zemenides (Accounts), David Scourfield (Kitchen Design Consultant), Nick Protopapas (Sales Admin) and John Yiangou (Estimator - not pictured), and Marios has always advocated a strong team bond and happy staff are key drivers towards business success. He was very proud to have every single one of us by his side and was quick to publicly commend our efforts both individually, and as a whole.

See our IoD Director of the Year Awards 2011 photos on our facebook page. We think they're pretty special! Please feel free to comment on the album and send your congratulations to Marios and the team via facebook, twitter, LinkedIn or send him a "high five" by email.

Thanks to all our suppliers and partners who have sent well wishing tweets and messages - we couldn't do it without you!