Mahdis Neghabian of London's Camden Eye wins BII Licensee of the Year 2012
Mahdis Neghabian of the Camden Eye pub in London has won the title of 2012 BII Licensee of the Year.
The award was presented by Peter Thomas CBII, chief executive at BII and Andrew Boyd, business unit director at Britvic.
The five other finalists were Tim Foster & Anthony Pender, the Wiremill, East Grinstead, Surrey; Chris Kemp, the Cricketers, Hartley Wintney, Hampshire; Jason Read & James Langford, The Plough Inn, Wrington, Somerset; Victoria Steadman, the Whitmore Arms, Essex; and John Wyke, the Old Horns Inn, High Bradfield, Sheffield.
Peter Thomas said: "Mahdis has shown us how she revived the fortunes of her business by combining innovation, strategic thinking, excellent customer care and a great deal of charm. She has inspired us with her ability to adapt to change, through her determination to always deliver what her customers want, and I am proud to call her the 2012 BII Licensee of the Year - all congratulations to Mahdis, our worthy winner!"
The judges were initially impressed by Neghabian's willingness to act on the feedback she received during the judging process. She was also praised for engineering a sustained turnaround in performance at the Camden Eye - a small venue where she has nonetheless generated high levels of business.
To reach the final stage of the award, Neghabian succeeded in the previous three rounds of judging, including a visit by main BII Licensee of the Year Award judges John Vereker and John Sharratt. During the final round, the six finalists were put through their paces by three panels of industry experts answering questions on areas such as marketing and business development, industry issues and managing HR and training.
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By Neil Gerrard
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