Meet the judging panel for the BikeBiz Awards 2023 

The BikeBiz Awards will be returning for 2023, and following the success of last year’s awards we will once again be working with a panel of judges from across the cycling and micromobility sectors. 

For this year’s awards, we are very proud to introduce our panel of 14 judges, who bring expertise from advocacy, retail, media, distribution, brands, and beyond. 

For the 2023 BikeBiz Awards, voting will be carried out either by our expert judging panel or by a wider vote open to the whole cycling industry, depending on the category. More information on all categories can be found here.

Most awards, including our brands of the year, and distributors of the year, will be decided by our judging panel, who will offer years of combined experience in the cycling industry to select the winners. Our judges come from a broad range of backgrounds in the industry, including retailers, distributors, and advocacy groups. 

In order to make judging fair, judges will have to abstain from any award category that may relate to their own organisation, to avoid any conflicts of interest – for example, retailer judges will not be permitted to vote in the retailer category of awards.

Read more: We have officially announced categories for the BikeBiz Awards 2023 

Judges will vote using their own online form, selecting their preferred winner, and offering up a reason for their selection. In other categories, including Woman of the Year, and IBD of the Year, voting will be open to the wider cycling trade through an online voting form. 

We’d like to extend a huge thank you to all from the industry who expressed an interest in joining the judging panel, and we’re very excited to introduce our judging panel for the 2023 award: 

The judges

Alex Ballinger – Editor, BikeBiz and MicromobilityBiz 

Alex has been editor of BikeBiz and Micromobilitybiz since November 2021, having joined the trade media from his role as digital news editor at Cycling Weekly. Away from the desk, Alex can be found riding any variety of bike, from e-bikes to BMX, and competing in time trials in Berkshire and the surrounding areas. 

Rebecca Bland – freelance journalist

Rebecca Bland is a freelance cycling journalist. She has been writing about bikes in various forms for three years, but riding for many more. She caught the bug when commuting to Leeds on a second-hand MTB, and has since dipped her toes into all types of riding. Now held captive by a border collie puppy, she’s more likely to be towing the dog on an e-bike than riding epic adventures, but still appreciates the joy of two wheels. 

David Greenwood – Head of marketing, Evans Cycles

David Greenwood is head of marketing for Evans Cycles, the UK’s largest specialist cycling retailer.

As a life-long rider and cycling advocate, driven by his belief in the transformative power of cycling for health and mental wellbeing, he is committed to using his expertise and enthusiasm to inspire more people to ‘jump on a bike’ and make riding an integral part of their lives.

Ryan Oldfield – Founder, TotalMTB

Ryan Oldfield is founder of 3X award nominated non profit TotalMTB CIC.

Since 2017 through TotalMTB he has been raising mental health awareness through his own experiences as well as supporting others and £29,000 for other charities and funding the planting of 20,000 trees.

Jerry Lawson – Founder, Frog Bikes 

Jerry Lawson is the founder of Frog Bikes, a leading British manufacturer specialising in lightweight bikes designed specifically for children. In February 2013, Jerry, alongside his wife Shelley, set the wheels in motion for this remarkable venture. Today, Frog Bikes proudly showcases its innovatively designed bikes through a vast network of independent bike shops spanning the globe. 

Before embarking on the Frog Bikes journey, Jerry Lawson held influential roles at renowned industry leaders such as Tesco, Amazon, Regus, and John Lewis. Jerry is also a passionate cyclist and triathlete.

Michelle Chappell – Director/owner, On Your Bike 

Michelle Chappell has been director/owner of retailer On Your Bike in West Sussex for over 20 Years, established by her husband Robert Chappell in 1983.

Previously Michelle spent 10 years leading customer service departments in the telecoms industry focussing on improving the customer journey from “soup to nuts”.

Her passion is to deliver the best customer experience at all times. 

Jonathan Davies – Creative director, Conductor 

Before co-founding cycling design agency Conductor in 2014, Jonathan worked in world-renowned advertising & branding agencies for over 20 years. He has led design teams on a wide variety of creative & marketing projects across a selection of sectors. He is passionate about building world-class brands and creating highly engaging, creative campaigns. 

Michelle Arthurs-Brennan – Digital editor, Cycling Weekly 

Michelle Arthurs-Brennan is the Digital Editor at Cycling Weekly. She’s been writing about bikes and their riders for over a decade and has dabbled in most styles of racing herself. Now mum to a one-year-old, expect to see her taking the parent’s events at a nursery sports day far too seriously in the very near future.  

Sandra Corcoran – Owner, Pennine Cycles 

Sandra Corcoran has co-owned and been a director of Bradford-based Pennine Cycles since 2000.

An acclaimed businesswoman, Sandra was named amongst the top 100 female entrepreneurs in Small Business Britain this year.

She has been a dedicated cycling enthusiast since her 20s, starting with cyclocross and road cycling. Not limited to her business roles, she’s a respected speaker, mentor, and advocate for female entrepreneurs. As a recognised authority on business and cycling, Sandra frequently contributes to national TV and radio discussions about cycling and business.

Dominic Langan – CEO, Madison and Sportline

 

 

 

 

CEO of Madison and Sportline since 2005, Dominic Langan has been with Madison for over 30 years, giving him a wealth of knowledge, experience and a real perspective on how the industry has evolved during that time.

Under his stewardship Madison has continued to work with some of the biggest brands in cycling like Shimano, DT Swiss, Lazer, Park Tool, Kryptonite and Elite as well as run the Madison Saracen Downhill race team, supported countless races and events and been a consistent voice in the UK cycling industry. 

Georgia Yexley –  Founder, Loud Mobility 

Georgia is a passionate, vocal and experienced inclusive active travel advocate, and an influential voice in the sustainable mobility industry. 

In her work across three leading micromobility operators (including two ‘unicorns’, three acquisitions and one IPO) she has worked with hundreds of cities across the globe on their active and sustainable transport aims. Georgia recently stepped down from her role leading global giant Tier Mobility’s e-scooter and e-bike operations across the UK and Ireland. Launching her business Loud Mobility and shifting her focus towards cross sector work aimed at widening participation through social, cultural and system change in sustainable mobility. 

Paul Elliot –  Director at Bob Elliot & Co Ltd

Paul has been in the industry since university and over the years gained huge experience working in distribution. Developed strong relations with both suppliers and customers during this time through travel. At home – father of two and trying to stay as active as possible in any spare time available.

Will Jansen – Head of operations, HumanForest 

Will is head of operations for HumanForest. He has ten years experience in logistics and operations, having spent six years in the Armed Forces before joining Zipcar as head of operations. He is passionate about cycling, from bike racing to working with leading industry brands during his early career.

Nikki Hawyes – Managing director for Cannondale in the UK 

Previously board member at ZyroFisher managing the brand portfolio, Hawyes established career within the tech industry with a commercial focus on government and defence sectors. Her passion for the outdoors, led her to the French Alps, where she discovered the joys of mountain biking. Seeking to combine her passion with my commercial background she established a specialist mountain bike shop. The natural evolution on returning to the UK, was to continue to combine her love of bikes with her career and led her to where she is now.