Charlie Harwood, who currently manages CEF’s Greenwich branch, has been named as joint-winner of the inaugural ‘Power Players’ scheme (along with Joseph Wu of T Clarke) at this year’s ED&I Expo in Birmingham. He becomes the first ‘Power Player’ in the UK electrotechnical industry following the ECA’s new initiative to recognise the best young talent in the sector.
The new scheme to reward excellence and innovation in the electrotechnical and engineering services field was judged by an independent panel, led by the ECA’s Head of Technical Steve Martin, which decided the four finalists based on video entries. The winners of the competition were later selected via a public vote.
Charlie has worked at CEF since 2012, where he began his career as a delivery driver. He was recognised for his determination to progress within the organisation and following the completion of CEF’s internal training programme, Aspire, he was promoted to the position of Account Manager. In less than ten months, Charlie grew his sales figures by almost 300 per cent and quickly worked his way up to Branch Manager.
As joint-winner of the new ECA Power Players scheme Charlie has been awarded a number of prizes, including a networking trip to next October’s NECA conference in Philadelphia, lunch with business guru Sir John Parker, and participation in a trip next March to Arctic Finland with the Electrical Industries Charity.
Commenting on his achievement, Charlie said: “My career has gone from strength to strength with CEF and I think that more young people in Britain need to realise how rewarding a job in the electricals sector can be. I would like to thank everybody involved in my entry to the ‘Power Players’ scheme, particularly my Group Manager, Paul Church, and General Manager, Tony Betteridge, for their on-going support and guidance throughout.”
Head judge, Steve Martin, added: “Many congratulations to Charlie, the other finalists, and indeed to everyone who entered and supported the inaugural Power Players. We are delighted that Power Players has proved to be an effective showcase for the excellent business and technical contributions being made by younger people, across our industry.”
