Winner: Owen Turner

Finalists: Richard Flanagan, Sharon Moore

THE owner of a branding and graphic design agency with a passion for nurturing future talent has been named Business Personality of the Year.

Owen Turner set up his business United by Design, based in The Mount, in 2008 and has since grown it to include clients such as global professional services firm KPMG, Leeds-based retail giant ASDA stores and national soft toy manufacturer MetroCo.

Through Mr Turner, the agency gets involved with local educational projects, such as Young Enterprise, York St John University’s ACORN and Spark schemes and North Yorkshire Business and Education Partnership (NYBEP).

Mr Turner offers mentoring support to budding entrepreneurs and the company takes on talent from York St John University’s graduate internship scheme.

The business also contributes one per cent of its profits to environmental charities, including Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, as part of the global initiative One per cent for the Planet.

In awarding him the title, judges said Mr Owen proves “you don’t have to be loud to be a personality” and the he “makes a strong impression on those he meets in an unassuming way”.

Mr Turner said: “I am over-whelmed that I have won the award. I’ve put a lot of hard work into the businesses, and I’m very grateful the business community has given me the chance to be here tonight.

“I definitely couldn’t have done it without the support of my family and friends, and my fantastic staff.”

Mr Turner’s agency also works with a number of local clients including the Yorkshire Wildlife Trust, the University of York, St Peter’s School, Norton College, York Mansion House, food companies SLOEmotion and Choc Affair, plus the Elland and Treboom Breweries.