James Phipps, chief executive of fast-growing Swindon-based IT and communications support firm Excalibur Communications, has been shortlisted in the prestigious Institute of Directors (IoD) regional awards, which celebrate excellence in the boardroom.
Excalibur was founded more than 20 years ago and now provides IT, landline and mobile solutions to more than 5,500 businesses in the UK. 
James, pictured, whose first experience with mobile technology was working as a teenager in a mobile phone shop 17 years ago, took over the running of the business four years ago and is now overseeing a business that has grown its IT services offering by more than 20% over the last 12 months.
He is in the running for the title of Director of the Year in the awards, which take place on June 12 at Bristol’s Paintworks, are backed by Swindon Business News as official media partner. Other categories include Young Director, Public Sector and Family Business Director.
If successful, James and other regional award winners will go on to compete for the national awards in the autumn.
Excalibur, which has recently extended its presence in the region with the opening of a Bristol office, is a long standing supporter of the local community and is involved in a number of projects, primarily supporting young people.
This year it has committed to raising £50,000 for the RUH Bath Teenage Cancer Ward appeal and it is also involved in a number of local schools programmes.
James also sits on the boards of Swindon Influence, Wiltshire Young Enterprise and the Swindon and Wiltshire Local Enterprise Partnership (SWLEP) and last year was awarded Best New Business Supporter by Young Enterprise South West.
He said: “Our aim is to develop our non-mobile business so that we become a trusted service partner in both mobile and non-mobile in the next three to five years.
“Our profits and growth have risen significantly over the past five years in a time of economic instability. We believe this is due to the unique offering of products, services and focus on innovation based on a 20-year knowledge of the marketplace.”
IoD South West chairman Richard Ayre said: “The standard of entries was extremely high this year, confirming that there’ is a huge amount to celebrate within our region’s enterprise community.
“We have seen a real surge in optimism in the past 12 months as we have emerged from a challenging period into one which is once again seeing growth and buoyancy.
“It’s great to celebrate the best in leadership in this region and wonderful to then see our winners compete with the UK’s best for national honours.”
All entries are judged by a panel of experts. The awards celebration event on June 12 is sponsored by Jaguar.
Last year’s South West winner, Exeter University student Selin Yigitbasi, went on to take the title of national Student of the Year, beating five other regional finalists.
