Meet the Judges
An independent panel of rural business owners, sector leaders and senior editors. Chaired by Richard Alvin, founder of the awards.
Matthew Margetts is the Marketing Director for Smarter Business Group. Smarter Business is a Crown Commercial Supplier and one of the largest utility procurement specialists in the UK. Smarter…
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Independent
All judges are independent. No sponsor sees entries, influences scoring or selects winners.
Two-judge review
Every entry is read and scored by at least two judges before deliberation.
Sector expertise
Specialist judges join the panel for categories where domain knowledge matters.
The Rural Business Awards are judged by an independent panel of people who have built, run or covered the kinds of businesses being recognised.
The panel is chaired by Richard Alvin, founder of the Rural Business Awards and CEO of Capital Business Media. Sector specialists join the panel for the categories that match their expertise, so a farm diversification entry isn’t being judged by someone who has never set foot on a farm.
What judges look for
Across every category, the judges are looking for four things:
- A clear story of change. What’s different now from a year ago, three years ago? Growth, transformation, resilience under pressure.
- Evidence. Numbers, customers, partners, output, community impact, not just adjectives.
- Quality of leadership. The judgement calls behind the headline. Why this strategy, why now, what was the alternative.
- Contribution to rural Britain. Beyond the P&L, how does the business strengthen its sector, its community, its supply chain, or its landscape?
Panel Chair Richard Alvin, Founder of the Rural Business Awards · CEO, Capital Business Media · Publisher, Business Matters