Care charity boss Edel Harris takes gong

Edel Harris was last night named EY Scotland Entrepreneur Of The Year 2017 at an awards ceremony at Gleneagles.

Harris is the chief executive of Aberdeen-based health and social care charity Cornerstone, which employs 2,200 people and provides care and support services for adults and children with disabilities and other support needs.

Inthenineyearsshehasbeen in her role at Cornerstone, Harris has delivered business growth of £10 million, diversified into new care markets and delivered an ambitious capital plan to create new homes for people with disabilities and autism.

Annie Graham, EY partner and leader of the EY Entrepreneur Of The Year programme in Scotland, said: “Edel Harris is an entrepreneur with wow factor. Her passion, drive and strategic mindset have made a significant impact to the lives of the people who work and are supported by Cornerstone across Scotland.”

Harris also took home the Building a Better Working World award and the independent panel of judges described her as “truly inspirational with the potential to change the world”.

Other winners were: Transformational Leader – Alan Foy, boss of Smart Metering Systems; Disruptor – Andrew Reid, head of RHA; International – Craig Gallagher, CEO of MB Aerospace Group; Master – Calum Smeaton, CEO and founder of Tvsquared; Rising Star – Magnus Houston, managing director of Coast & Glen Ltd; and Scale Up – Neil Lapping, chief adventure officer of Macs Adventure. 0 The Cornerstone chief took the top EY award