Meet 2016's Outstanding Business Woman

A former Milton Keynes nurse who swapped hospital beds for balance sheets has been crowned the Outstanding Business Woman of the Year at The National Women in Business awards ceremony. Jan Flawn CBE, is the owner of PJ Care, a leading provider of specialist neurological care and neuro rehabilitation for people with progressive or acquired neurological conditions.

She left school with no qualifications and became a registered nurse; very quickly rising to a senior management position at the Department of Health.

She launched PJ Care after seeing young people with neurological conditions living in homes for the elderly, which she didn’t believe was the most appropriate place for them to be treated.

Jan earned her place in the final, beating off stiff competition after winning the SME (Growth) award in the regional finals in September.

She also took the national SME (Growth) category award at a prestigious lunch organised by Forward Ladies at the Royal Armouries in Leeds before an audience of senior business leaders and their guests.

“I feel very humbled and proud to be recognised for the neurological care centres I have built, and continue to develop, to ensure we remain at the forefront of providing the very best care for our residents while empowering our staff to grow and succeed in their careers with us,” Jan said.

Jennifer Crawley, chair of the judges and UK deputy director of small businesses for HSBC added: “It is great to see so many women being recognised for their hard work and commitment to business. The standard of entries for 2016 has been extremely high, with some really inspirational stories from those women who have taken part.”

This year’s awards continues its tradition of being the premier forum for recognising and rewarding the talented women across the UK. The awards, which were created to celebrate trail blazing and pioneering women from enterprise and business, are hugely important because they give women a unique opportunity to acknowledge their successes and become credible and inspirational role models for others. Find out more here.

VERCIDA works with over one hundred clients who are committed to creating an inclusive work environment. If you are an employer and interested in working with VERCIDA to promote your diversity and inclusion initiatives and attract the best candidates, please call 02037405973 or email info@vercida.com for more information.

We are also officially recommended by Disability Confident as a step on achieving Employer status, please click here for more information.