A Swindon chief executive who started his first business at 16 and now heads a multi-million pound global healthcare group has won a prestigious award for entrepreneurs.
Richard Steeves, founder & CEO of Synergy Health – based on Swindon’s Windmill Hill business park – was named the overall winner of the EY 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year for the London & South title at a ceremony last night. 
And in demonstration of Swindon’s strength as an entrepreneurial town, Jason Bannister, founder of retail success story Oak Furniture Land, was also among the regional winners.
Competition judges described Richard Steeves as ‘at the forefront of his industry’, an innovator with ‘steely determination’ and ‘clear direction’, fostering an inclusive and empowered culture.
He founded Synergy Health in 1991 when he identified a gap in the market for surgical packs to reduce the rate of HIV infection in operating theatres. In 2007 it acquired Swindon-based sterlisation group Isotron and later moved its head office to the town.
Today the FTSE-250 company operates from 115 sites worldwide, providing outsourced services to health industries, including medical device sterilisation, infection control products, specialist laboratory and healthcare linen services.
It employs 2,200 people in the UK and Ireland and operates across the Americas, Asia and Africa, Europe and the Middle East, processing more than 150m reusable medical and surgical instruments a year and making daily deliveries of sterile reusable gowns, towels and set up packs.
Last year it agreed to become a 30% stakeholder in a much larger multinational business with US-based Steris Corporation which would have a combined revenue of about $2.6bn and employ around 14,000 people in 60 countries.
The two firms are appealing against an anti-competition ruling by US regulator the Federal Trade Commission which is blocking the move.
EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Partner for London and South Dave Hales said: “Richard’s entrepreneurial spirit was evident early on when he started his first business at 16 to fund his way through higher education.
“He has built a global business, providing mission-critical services to healthcare providers to help safeguard patients. Facing significant challenges along the way, he has capitalised on market changes and diversified the business.
“Richard has clearly nurtured an empowered culture at Synergy that encourages individuals and teams to make decisions and develop new ideas, which has helped the company to push technological boundaries and stay ahead of the competition.”
Richard himself credits his most entrepreneurial attribute as ‘intuition and attention to detail’.
Jason Bannister launched Oak Furniture Land in 2006 when he sold his first consignment of imported furniture on eBay. Often hailed as one of the UK’s clicks-to-bricks retail success stories, it has achieved year-on-year growth of 40%-plus and now has annual sales of £194m and 1,000 staff across the UK and in Swindon, where it operates a 300,000 sq ft warehouse and distribution centre.
EY 2015 Entrepreneur of the Year winners were selected by an independent judging panel chaired by JustGiving chairman Jonathan McKay from a short-list of 35 businesses collectively turning over £2.8b and employing more than 32,000 people.
Jason, Richard and the nine other London & South winners, along with those from Scotland, the North, and Midlands, will now compete in the UK finals in October, where they will vie for the title EY UK Entrepreneur Of The Year 2015 and a chance to represent the UK at a global awards ceremony in Monte Carlo next year.
