GET TO KNOW THE JUDGES

Our judging panel comprises independent senior leaders from across the contact centre sector. Many are former entrants, finalists and winners, bringing first-hand insight into the standards and impact required for success. They are supported by experienced operational professionals drawn from a range of disciplines within the contact centre environment, carefully matched to categories aligned to their expertise and appointed to avoid any conflict of interest. Together, the panel follows a fair, robust and transparent process, with structured calibration to ensure consistency and integrity across all awards.

HEAD JUDGE

Sarah Hunt

Sarah enjoyed over 25 years working in the contact centre industry. During that time she has worked in leadership roles across Retail, Banking, Insurance, Funeral care and Outsourced Operations.

She has worked in operational roles as well as change roles in business and customer transformation projects – but her real passion is working with people and helping them to develop skills and knowledge that make our industry a great place to work.

OUR JUDGES

Lead Category Judges

Julie Mordue

Associate Director - Marketing & Partnerships NRG & Greenbean

Julie is a well-respected figure in the UK contact centre industry, having judged for various awards programmes over the years.

Becky Wardlow

Global CS Training Team Lead JustEat Takeaway.com

With over a decade of contact centre experience, Becky leads a diverse, eight-country team, driving learning initiatives to enhance customer service.

Dan Britton

Associate Director of Operations, NHS BSA

Dan has been in the customer service and contact centre industry for over 18 years in a variety of roles, including Frontline Agent, Team Manager and Head of Contact Centre.

Nicola Simpson

Senior Customer Relations Manager, Student Loan Company

Nicola is an experienced senior leader who is passionate about the recognition and development of others and comes with 20 years’ experience working in a large contact centre for a major high street bank.

Garry Gormley

CEO & Founder, FAB Solutions

Garry is an experienced Contact centre professional with nearly 20 years in the Contact centre industry, having spent a lot of time in the operation he understands the dynamics and moving parts of the contact centre and what impacts customer experience first hand.

Helen Wilson

Chief Operating Officer, Atom Bank

Helen has over 29 years in Financial Services, predominantly in operational roles and contact centres at Northern Rock, and also for Deloitte.

Neil Ackinclose

Associate Vice President - Operations, Firstsource Solutions

With over 20 years experience in sales, customer service and operational excellence, Neil has contact centres spanning across England, Wales and Northern Ireland

Nichola Hall

RVP EMEA Customer Success, Arctic Wolf

Nicola is an experienced senior leader who is passionate about the recognition and development of others and comes with 20 years’ experience working in a large contact centre for a major high street bank.

Stuart Overend

Head of Customer Support and Operational Transformation, Shawbrook

Stuart has nearly 30 years’ experience in customer services, much of this working across multiple positions in contact centres and operations in the North East.

Chris Rainsforth

Director, The Forum

Chris is an award‑winning contact centre leader who’s been in the game for over 25 years, working everywhere from the frontline to the boardroom

Sharon Oley

Customer Service Director, Sage

27 years of experience in contact centres, I started my career in insurance in a telesales role, moving into Resource Planning roles, Senior Operational roles leading frontline support teams

Andy Preacher

Corporate Affairs Director AND-E

With a senior HR career spanning nearly 20 years within the retail, financial services and media sectors, Andy has taken his experience.

THE JUDGING TIMETABLE

NECCA 2026 timeline

Explore the key milestones that shape this year's awards programme:

28th

May 2026:

"How to Enter" Support Webinar

1st June 2026:

NECCA

Nominations

Open

26th July 2026:

Nominations Close at 5pm - Final day to submit

Sept

2026:

Shortlist Announced - Top entries across all categories

12th Nov 2026:

Gala Dinner & Awards Evening - Celebrate the winners

SPONSORSHIP AND PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITIES

Why Sponsor the North East Contact Centre Awards?

The North East Contact Centre Awards provides direct access to a highly engaged community of senior leaders, operational decision-makers and industry influencers. Sponsorship aligns your brand with excellence in customer experience, leadership and performance, positioning you as a trusted partner within the region’s contact centre sector.

Through year-round promotion, thought leadership opportunities and presence at the Awards Gala Dinner, NECCA offers more than visibility. It creates meaningful connection, credibility and commercial opportunity within a sector that employs more than 35,000 people across the North East.