Stuart Lockwood has dedicated more than 25 years to improving health, wellbeing and opportunities for communities through leadership roles across the leisure, wellbeing and social enterprise sector.
Stuart’s achievements extend far beyond organisational growth. His leadership has had a direct and lasting impact on thousands of people across Oldham and the wider region. As Chief Executive, he has transformed Oldham Active into one of the country’s most respected community leisure trusts, leading significant investment in facilities, services and community health programmes.
For 43 years Iain Varah has dedicated his career to leisure and culture and recently received an MBE for his outstanding contributions.
Under his leadership, Vision has grown into one of the UK’s most diverse charitable culture and leisure organisations, employing over 700 people and delivering services that reach thousands of local residents every year.
For Iain, the success of these services has never simply been about numbers or profit. It is about what they make possible for people and communities – creating places to meet, opportunities to participate, experiences to enjoy and services that help people live healthier, happier and more connected lives.
Ivan Horsfall Turner has dedicated more than three decades to public leisure, driven by a belief in the power of community leisure to improve lives.
During his tenure Freedom Leisure has grown from just four leisure centres into one of the UK’s leading not-for-profit leisure trusts now working with 30 local authority partners and operating 136 leisure centres, alongside cultural facilities, across England and Wales.
Ivan has consistently championed the role of leisure beyond traditional sport and fitness.
Across four decades Swim Development Specialists Debra Taylor and Louise Findlay, have built a partnership defined by trust, shared standards, humour, resilience and an unwavering belief in the value of aquatics.
Together, they have created and sustained Edinburgh Leisure’s Aquatics & Lifesaving Training Academy, shaping generations of swim teachers, lifeguards, coaches, tutors and aquatic professionals, while strengthening the workforce that makes safe, inclusive swimming possible across Edinburgh and Scotland.
Through decades of training, mentoring and supporting swim teachers, tutors and aquatic professionals, they have helped build the workforce that enables thousands of children and adults across Scotland to learn to swim.”
