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Neil Davies, head of Close Brothers Asset Finance, has been named CEO of the Year at the International Asset Finance Network Awards.

The announcement was made in London during a packed ceremony, where a total of 18 awards were presented to industry leaders and companies.

Dozens of senior industry figures took the role of independent judges to determine the winners, with the process verified as fair by chairman Adrian Dally, head of motor finance at the Finance and Leasing Association.

Davies has worked in asset finance for 30 years and was praised for his work to increase the size of Close Brothers Asset Finance loan book which currently stands at £1.9 billion while driving other areas of business development.

Edward Peck, co-founder of the International Asset Finance Network, said: “During his tenure he has been responsible for re-platforming the company’s end-to-end business processes, he has overseen the establishment of a new business in Germany providing flexible and tailored funding solutions and he has worked with the Road Haulage Association to help with recruitment and training to tackle the current acute shortage of drivers.

“He launched a training academy for his sales teams, worked to ensured gender balance in the workforce and he has worked with SMEs to help them manage CO2 emissions targets.”

Davies thanked the awards judges for the recognition, saying: "I am absolutely delighted to have won this award, but it is the businesses that have made it happen. Our people are experts in their fields and they have a passion for what they do; they want our customers to succeed."

For the International Asset Finance Network Conference and Awards, Alfa was headline sponsor, White Clarke Group was platinum sponsor, while NETSOL was gold sponsor. Genpact was AI insights leader.

Teamwill Consulting was network sponsor for lunch and Bynx was network sponsor for registration and refreshments. Locke Lord was network sponsor for regulation and compliance. Apak Group and FICO were sponsors, while Quotevine was network partner.

The IAFN/PowerUP Overall Innovation Award sponsor was Cloud Lending, a Q2 company, Aldermore sponsored the IAFN/PowerUP Changemakers Award, Simply sponsored the IAFN/PowerUP Techstars Award and VIP Apps Consulting sponsored the IAFN/PowerUP Innovators Award.

Table hosts for the awards were Close Brothers Asset Finance and the Leasing Foundation.

For a full list of winners from the December International Asset Finance Network Awards, click here.