Entrepreneur Of The Year Denise O’Leary, of Wiltshire's Purpol Marketing has been named the #GoDo Entrepreneur of the Year in the West & Wales region in the Nat West Great British Entrepreneur Awards.

She joined other nominees at a glittering ceremony in Cardiff last week  at an event which recognises the hard work and inspiring stories of British entrepreneurs.

Judges included Hayley Parsons OBE, founder of GoCompare.com, and serial entrepreneur James Caan CBE. The awards celebrated businesses across 11 categories, from Family Business of the Year to Entrepreneurs’ Champion of the Year.

The ‘#GoDo Entrepreneur of the Year’ award is a significant win for Denise and her team who started Purpol Marketing in 2014 and is now helping companies leverage marketing expertise to win £100m+ projects.

She brings 17+ years-worth of experience and insight to her clients and has grown her self-funded start up from a one woman show to a successful business now employing four people.

Denise won the award for her outstanding ability to take action and be strong in leadership, with a growth mindset where being challenged and finding solutions is second nature.

She said: ‘Our category was the first to be called up and when they said my name as the #GoDo Entrepreneur Winner I was in shock! I was proud to have been selected as a finalist so to have been selected as the overall winner is just amazing! 

"It was a perfect evening of celebration and encouragement!'’

Founder of the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards, Francesca James, said: “This has been a really tough year for our judges, as not only have we seen more entries than ever before, but the standard of entries has also been the best ever. We’ve had an incredibly tough job narrowing down the winners from such a strong shortlist. “The winning entrepreneurs have made a huge impact on entrepreneurship in their region and the wider UK economy and we hope that winning an award will help give them the recognition they thoroughly deserve.”

Gordon Merrylees, Head of Entrepreneurship for NatWest, said: “NatWest is incredibly proud to support these important awards, it has been so inspiring to see the number and calibre of entries this year which proves that the entrepreneurial spirit is live and well in the South West."