Amarjit Binji, chief executive officer of AJB Group, beat off stiff competition to win 2022 Entrepreneur of the Year at the Midlands Business Awards (MBAs). Winners across the 11 categories were announced at a gala black-tie event held in Leicester on Friday March 4th.
Amarjit was joined on the night by members of his family, friends, colleagues and his two sons, Aaron and Jai, aged 9 and 12, respectively.
The MBAs were established in 2006 to give highly valued recognition to exceptional growing businesses across East and West Midlands.
“I was totally shocked to win this award but equally humbled and delighted," comments Amarjit. "It is no easy feat to navigate a business and achieve continuing growth whilst advocating for innovation and change in our specialist sector but it is worth it to have tributes like this and see the hard work paying off. I am incredibly proud of my dream team who all have a part to play in our collective success.”
The candidates were evaluated based on their entrepreneurial leadership, talent management, financial performance, societal impact, degree of difficulty in navigating and overcoming obstacles to make their companies successful, and originality, among other core contributions and attributes.
Amarjit was one of six finalists in the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ category. He was selected by an independent panel of judges for his outstanding positive leadership coupled with a strong track record of commercial success and driving a positive agenda for best practice and change in his sector whilst demonstrating his commitment to the community through the firm’s charitable activities.
The Rt Hon Rishi Sunak MP for Richmond (Yorks) and Chancellor of the Exchequer, said: “I’d like to congratulate Amarjit Binji on being crowned 'Entrepreneur of the Year' at the 2022 Midlands Business Awards. Businesses are the heartbeat of British economy. Entrepreneurs play a pivotal role in wealth creation and adding even greater value to all aspects of our British ways of life, more so now than ever before.”
Helen Hewitt, Chief Executive of the British Woodworking Federation (BWF), adds: “It gives me enormous pleasure to congratulate Amarjit on winning the ‘Entrepreneur of the Year’ category of the Midlands Business Awards. As a proud ambassador of the woodworking and manufacturing industry, Amarjit’s passion, drive and dedication to this sector is commendable. As BWF Award winners in the past, this is not a surprise and is another example of how Amarjit has lead and developed the AJB Group. Well done, Amarjit.”
Amarjit’s career began at the age of 12, when he started out as a carpenter and joiner. Frustrated with the lack of innovation and modern technique within his specialist field, he decided to set up his own company in 1999. AJB Group currently employs around 40 staff, including his brother Mandeep, sister Kully and best friend of over 35 years, Hitesh, who work as Operations Director, HR Director and Project Manager, respectively. Darren Moore, Factory Manager, is the longest-serving employee, having been with the business for 23 years.
