Amit Bhatia, chairman of Hope Construction Materials, has been crowned Young Director of the Year for London and the South East, alongside Ross Williams, CEO of Global Personals, at the Institute of Director’s (IoD) Director of the Year awards.
 
Amit Bhatia fought off stiff competition from a number of high-profile nominees to claim the joint accolade. He will now go through to the national final, to be held in London on 24 October.
 
Mr Bhatia founded Hope Construction Materials in January 2013, becoming the first new nationwide entrant into the UK construction industry for more than a decade.
 
The company has a workforce of more than 900 staff, spread across 180 plants in Britain. Amit's ability to unite his employees and produce a positive first 18 months for the business from a standing start, was cited as one of the main reasons behind his success.
 
He said: “It was a bold move launching Hope Construction Materials into an industry with five large incumbents who hadn’t been challenged for more than a decade, however we’ve had a strong first 18 months. Jointly winning this award is great recognition of this – especially with the wealth of entrepreneurial talent in the region.
 
“I launched my first business as a teenager and enterprise is something I have always been passionate about. I look forward to the national final of the awards later this year.”