Margaret Manning a finalist in Female Entrepreneur of the Year Award
01/01/2008 - London
Margaret Manning, CEO of leading digital consultancy, Reading Room, is a finalist in this year's Fast Growth Business Award's 'Female Entrepreneur of the Year', having beaten off stiff competition to become one of just four contenders on the shortlist.
Margaret was named in 2007 among the top 50 people to watch in the media in the Observer Courvoisier Future 500. A fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Margaret is a highly respected figure within the new media industry and is currently vice-chair for the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA). She is also a member of the BBC External New Media Advisory Group.
As CEO of Reading Room, Margaret is one of very few female CEOs in the largely male-dominated digital industry. Reading Room is the sixth largest digital consultancy in the UK, growing faster than any other (2007 Sunday Times Tech Track 100). A full-service digital shop, with 150 staff and offices in London, Manchester, Sydney and Canberra, services include strategy, design, Content Management Systems (CMS) and online marketing for clients including Royal Mail, Skoda and Land Securities.
Margaret has made Reading Room an attractive place to join and work for men and women alike. Indeed, 46% of senior managers are women, an extraordinary statistic considering that across the entire digital industry, less than 20% of the workforce is female.
Margaret ensures that women are in no way held back by circumstance (e.g. family responsibilities). Women are given flexible working hours on request and are not required to work long hours in order to succeed. Margaret believes that talent and ability are what matters - not how many hours are put in.
The winner will be announced at the Fast Growth Business Awards Dinner at the London Marriot, Grosvenor Square, on March 12.
Having steered the company through its rapid growth in the last ten years, Margaret remains extremely ambitious and is on course to increase Reading Room's turnover from £2.5m in 2005 to £25m in 2010.
Margaret Manning, CEO of Reading Room, said:
'I am thrilled both for myself and Reading Room that we have made it through to the finals of the Fast Growth Business Awards for the second year running. Having enjoyed phenomenal growth over the past few years it is rewarding not only to get praise from our clients but recognition such as this as well.'
