Simon Forrester, the leader of the British Pest Control Association, has been named chief executive of the year in a national initiative.

The 47-year-old scooped the highest-profile category at the UK Association Awards, which aims to reward talent and recognise success.

Simon was unable to attend the ceremony at the Wembley Hilton, London last week, so the trophy was instead collected by communications manager Ben Massey.

But he said: "I'm delighted and honoured to win such a prestigious award, which is a massive boost for the BPCA.

"It's a reflection of the success of the organisation but also on the professionalism, hard work and dedication of the entire team.

"We are the leading trade body for pest control in the UK and I am the figurehead, but as Isaac Newton once said, I am standing on the shoulders of giants."

Simon has this year instigated a string of initiatives which have delivered massively increased revenues - leading to more benefits and services for members.

Sustained growth has reached unprecedented levels and turnover has passed the £1 million mark with new staff appointed to cope with the expanding workload.

The total number of servicing members reached a record 700 in 2016 - an increase of 11 per cent year on year - and the retention rate was above 95 per cent despite the introduction of new criteria.

The judges said:

"With only a small team and some effective initiatives, Simon has transformed the BPCA into a modern, relevant and progressive organisation.

"He engaged the association in extensive international activities and generated a commercial drive."

During past 12 months, Simon instigated a root and branch review of BPCA governance, prompting revisions which led to a stronger, more streamlined structure for its various committees.
His campaign focusing on professionalism led to this year's introduction of rules requiring every member company to be assessed against a new European Standard - for which he helped to develop the protocol.

The BPCA remains the only trade body in the world to impose such a regulation, which ensures allied technicians are up to date with the latest products, techniques and legislation, and he has this year recruited an auditing team to help members through the process.

Simon was also a key figure in discussions over the stewardship regime rolled out this year.
His work within the BPCA was a vital factor in addressing and implementing the need for such change and, by representing members' interests, he was able to secure concessions which are proving crucial to the success of the scheme.

He was behind the introduction of ‘Business Shield' - a bespoke 24/7 service providing members handling dangerous products, working at height or in confined spaces with access to a library of key documentation.

Simon also led a project to improve training provision which has seen the number of courses provided by the BPCA more than double in the last 12 months.
The project included new eLearning courses to supplement the extensive training programme - an initiative that landed the ‘New Product Development' category at the MemCom awards earlier this year.

Source: BPCA.org.uk