Apeldoorn Business Awards Shining Light on Local Talent

10.11.2023

Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng Member of Jury that Selected Winners in Six Categories

One of Apeldoorn’s most popular business-related events, the Apeldoorn Business Awards (ABA), announced its 2023 winners (see list below) during a gala ceremony held at the Orpheus Theatre, on 26 October. All the tickets to the event were sold out and the gala night was a huge success, with the theatre being packed with professionals of different industries and journalists.

Currently, Karen Hop and Rob Beemer coordinate ABA. This was the sixth time that Wittenborg CEO Maggie Feng served as a member of the jury, together with Angelique Hommes (chairperson), Mike van Woudenberg, Priscilla Trip, Marc van Gerrevink, Ronald Dros and Carla Maessen. In addition to Feng, the ceremony was also attended by Wittenborg’s president Peter Birdsall, Head of Education Development and Quality Management Kriszta Kaspers-Rostás and External Relations & Events Manager Sophia Faraji.

After receiving a list containing all the companies selected by the nomination committee, the members of the jury spent weeks analysing the nominees and deliberating about how well they measure up to the requirements of the competition. The judges assessed the businesses on the criteria of Results, Stability, Innovation, Sustainability, Personnel Policy, Collaborations, Contributions to Apeldoorn, Future-proofing and Distinctiveness.

Wittenborg’s CEO Maggie Feng has been a member of the jury of the Apeldoorn Business Awards since the initiative was launched in 2016. “It was created by a group of people and organisations that strongly believed in building a platform to enable Apeldoorn businesses to shine. After all these years of hard work, ABA has become a well-known event among the business community of the city and has contributed to making Apeldoorn companies even prouder of their achievements,” she said.

Feng added that Apeldoorn is home to many solid and dynamic companies and organisations, both new and traditional. “Some of these businesses have been run by the fifth generation of the same families, which means they have been in the city for more than 100 years. However, many people have never heard of them. Therefore, the Apeldoorn Business Awards play an important role in highlighting these companies that have contributed so much to the local scene, as well as recognising others that are thriving and bringing innovation to the industry.”

Winners of the Apeldoorn Business Awards

Before the final announcement, three finalists had been selected for each of the six categories of the awards: Retail, Wholesale and Services, Tourism and Hospitality, Industry and Technology, Starters and Rabobank Social Organisations. In addition to the Business Awards, the initiative also includes an audience award, in which the Apeldoorn public can vote for a company nominated by the jury.

The winners of the Apeldoorn Business Awards 2023 are as follows:

Retail
De Hofdames

Wholesale and Services
Beekman Transport

Tourism and Hospitality
Café de Paris

Industry and Technology
Brummel Project Designers

Starters
Mr. Murk

Rabobank Social Organisations
Sant'Egidio