Veuve Clicquot has announced the shortlist for its Business Woman of the Year Award, bringing together shining examples of female
entrepreneurship. This year the organisers say the Award places a greater focus on Corporate Social Responsibility. The finalists include for the UK:

- Victoria Stapleton, Founder of fashion retailer, Brora
- Gill Riley, Founding and Managing Directorof construction
firm, GGR-UNIC
- Laura Tenison, Founder and Managing Director of retailing
company, JoJo Maman Bebe
- Louise Wymer, Director of catering company, The Catering Academy

The judging panel is comprised of business leaders, including Martha Lane fax and Gail Rebuck, CEO of Random House Publishing House. Each nominee was judged, not only on financial results and commercial success but increasingly on how each business embedded
social and environmental responsibility within their businesses.

JoJo Maman Bebe founder, Laura Tenison, was selected because of the launch of the Nema Foundation, a Mozambiquebased charity for infant mortality. Gill Riley of GGR was highlighted because her work as  a champion to equal opportunities for women in a male-dominated industry.
The Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award was created in 1972 to pay tribute to Barbe Nicole Clicquot Ponsardin. Widowed at 27, she courageously took over her husband's vineyards and, from modest beginnings, founded a company of international stature – making her one of the first business women of modern times. The vineyards of Veuve Clicquot in Reims adhere to the most stringent environmental standards, reflecting our own commitment to sustainable development and our broader recognition of the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to modern business.

The Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award is now live in 16 countries and is the first international award created specifically to recognise the contribution that women have made to business life.

The winner of the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award will be announced on March 23rd 2010.