Diageo CMO Syl Saller and former Ofcom CEO Sharon White among Queen's New Year Honours recipients
The Queen has shared her list of New Year’s Honours recipients to round out the decade with Diageo's marketing chief Syl Saller and Sharon White, the former chief executive of Ofcom, among the recipients.
Diageo CMO Sylvia Saller awarded honour of Commander
In total, 1,097 people received an award that recognises the outstanding achievements of people across the United Kingdom. Notably, 51% of honourees are women and 3.3% identified as being LGBTQ+.
Saller, Diageo’s chief marketing and innovation officer, was given the honour of Commander for her service to business and equality in the workplace.
“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," commented Saller.
Ivan Menezes, chief executive for Diageo, added: "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."
Sharon White, who stepped down as Ofcom chief executive officer, was awarded a Damehood for “public service” while serving at the regulatory group.
“This is really a recognition of the hard work and dedication of my colleagues at Ofcom,” White told the BBC.
Elizabeth Fagan, non-executive chair at Boots UK, was also named Commander for her service to gender equality in business while Joanna Tufuo Abeyie was also honoured for services to Diversity in the Media and Creative Industries.
Ann Francke, the chief executive for the Chartered Management Institute, a former marketer at Yell and P&G, was also given an MBE for services to business.
Big celebrity names also appeared on the 2020 Honours list. Actress Olivia Newton-John was awarded a Damehood for services to charity, cancer research and entertainment.
Elton John was awarded Companions of Honour for services to music and charity, and English footballer Jill Scott was awarded an MBE for services to her sport.