Costcutter founder Colin Graves awarded CBE

Colin Graves, founder of Costcutter and chairman of England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), has been made a Commander of the British Empire in the New Year’s Honours List.

Graves has been honoured for his services to the game of cricket. He was elected chairman of the ECB in 2015, and has overseen significant governance reforms at the board. He has previously served as deputy chairman at ECB since 2013 and as executive chairman of Yorkshire CCC.

“Colin has had a big impact on the game – both in his time as ECB Chairman and prior to joining ECB at Yorkshire CCC. He has demonstrated his passion for and commitment to the game, from his work at a grassroots level with Dunnington CC all the way up to the England teams and we’re incredibly grateful for all the work he has done,” commented Tom Harrison, chief executive of the ECB.

Graves founded Costcutter in 1986, which subsequently has grown into a franchise network of more than 1,700 stores.

Last year, he joined Co-op as an advisor on its wholesale and franchise development plans.

Elsewhere in the list, Syl Saller, Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer at Diageo, was given a CBE for services to business and equality in the workplace.

Throughout a twenty-year career at Diageo, Syl has consistently developed brand strategies to fuel growth and business performance, according to a statement from Diageo.

In 2013, Syl was appointed Chief Marketing and Innovation Officer and as a member of Diageo’s global executive committee, Syl has successfully led global marketing and innovation strategy through a period of significant transformation for the company.

In her industry roles, as President of the Marketing Society; board member for the Women’s Prize for Fiction; Trustee of the Marketing Academy; and member of the executive board of the World Federation of Advertisers, Syl has become a leading voice to drive change and enable greater diversity within the creative industries.

Most recently, Syl has been a catalyst behind Diageo’s support of the Creative Equals ‘Creative Comeback’ programme to support women returning to the creative industries following a career break, as well as work with the UN Women convened Unstereotype Alliance to produce a co-authored industry wide playbook for gender portrayal in advertising.

As President of the Marketing Society since 2016, Syl has helped lead an industry agenda on ‘Brave Leadership’ enabling candid discussions on equality, confidence and mental health in business.

In the last year, Syl has led Diageo’s drive for progressive gender portrayal in advertising and together with her executive colleagues, has been instrumental in the company’s work to champion inclusion and diversity through market-leading policies and practices.

Diageo was ranked the number one business globally for gender equality in the Equileap 2019 Gender Equality Report; the number two business globally in the 2019 Refinitiv Diversity & Inclusion index; and is one of the 230 companies included in the 2019 Bloomberg Gender-Equality Index.

Ivan Menezes, Chief Executive, Diageo plc, commented: “This is a proud day for Syl and for Diageo. This award is well-deserved recognition for Syl’s leadership and her tireless work to grow our people and our brands. Syl has long been a passionate advocate for equality and I know this honour will encourage her to achieve even more progress on diversity within the creative industries.”

Commenting on the honour, Syl Saller paid tribute to Diageo and industry colleagues: “This honour is testament to the incredible people at Diageo and in the external organisations that I am privileged to work with. I hope that our commitment to creating an environment where people can truly flourish, grow themselves and their businesses while working to accelerate equality makes a real difference to our industry.”

Ian Curle, former CEO of Edrington was made a CBE for services to the Scotch whisky industry.

Timothy Fallowfield, Director at J Sainsbury, became on OBE for services to disability awareness.

James Staughton, the CEO of St Austell Brewery, was awarded an OBE for services to the brewing industry and to the community in Cornwall.

Cassandra Stavrou, CEO at Propercorn was made an MBE for services to the food industry and exports.