Fresh from scooping the HR Gold Award from HR magazine, Liz Bell, HR director, B&Q, was named Leader of the Year at the Specsavers Everywoman in Retail Awards held last night at the a glittering ceremony compered by Gok Wan of Fashion Fix fame.

Industry pundits joined the UK's largest network for women in business, Everywoman, for the third year, to celebrate the most inspiring and pioneering women working in the industry.

The awards seek to address the severe shortage of senior women working in retail and with this award Bell was recognised for being an inspirational female whose vision and success is an example to all. As a successful and innovative role model, Bell is hoping other women will view retail as a viable and rewarding career option.

She said: "I am delighted and honoured to have won the Leader of the Year category. It is simply thrilling to win such a prestigious award for doing something that I love. It’s a privilege to have the opportunity to help other women realise their full potential and to bring about positive cultural change for women within our industry. It is also humbling to be recognised within my industry, alongside such strong leading female figures in retail."

Maxine Benson, co-founder and director of Everywoman, added: "We would like to congratulate Liz on her outstanding achievement. She is a real inspiration and role model, helping to give confidence to other young women in the industry. By celebrating the accomplishments of those such as Liz, we hope that other women will have someone to look up to, and see retail as an area where they can flourish and maximise their skills."