Judith Hartley, from Durham City, oversaw a significant period of success and growth during an esteemed career at the British Business Bank and its predecessor organisation, Capital for Enterprise Ltd (CfE).
Judith, 59, had a variety of roles at the bank after she joined in 2009 – which eventually included a stint as interim CEO for British Business Investments (BBI) and British Patient Capital (BPC) which achieved record profits of £530m in 2022.
She was appointed as permanent CEO of BBI, a supporter of 16,000 small businesses in October 2022, retiring in October 2023.
Now, more than a year after retirement, she has been recognised for her work.
She told The Northern Echo: “I was working for the British Business Bank – which is the UK’s economic development bank which is owned by the central government and gives funding to small businesses.
“During my time working for them, I had a variety of different roles.”
Judith explained that funds given to support the businesses were given as either loans or equity agreements – her job was to head up the teams who would give out millions of pounds to third parties who would then invest.
She added: “It was a really rewarding job – the main reason of doing it was to get out money to small businesses.
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“I’m thrilled to be recognised in this way for the work I’ve done over many years.
“I really have to recognise both my family and fellow colleagues who have supported me. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Despite retiring, Judith is still a member of several business boards across the region.
