The chief executive of the Cheltenham Trust was highly commended at the Institute of Directors (IoD) South West regional Director of the Year awards.

Julie Finch was the only director in Gloucestershire to receive an award and faced stiff competition from across the South West.

The judges awarded her highly commended in the Third Sector Regional Director of the Year award because of her strong leadership and clear vision.

Nick Sturge, IoD South West regional chairman, said: "The judges were impressed by Julie's excellent application, demonstrating very strong leadership across a broad portfolio of assets and activities. Julie has a clear vision to secure their future and is obviously highly motivated to succeed whilst encouraging her team to do the same."

Julie said: "This is a real accolade for the whole Cheltenham Trust team. Since the Trust was created in 2014, everyone has worked hard to ensure we are making an impact on Cheltenham, bringing a vibrant and inspiring programme of activities and events across the five venues we offer.

"We have set ourselves an ambitious strategy that aims to encourage greater participation by local people and attracting more visitors to the town, with a five year vision to develop the town's culture and leisure offering."

Julie was appointed as the first CEO of the independent charitable Cheltenham Trust when it was established in 2014 to manage and develop the town's iconic cultural, leisure and sporting sites on behalf of Cheltenham Borough Council.

The Trust is responsible for the Town Hall, Pittville Pump Room, the Wilson Art Gallery and Museum, Leisure At Cheltenham and the Prince of Wales Stadium. It has a team of 150 staff and over 200 volunteers, looking after some 930,000 customer interactions with the town.

The IoD South West regional Director of the Year awards took place at Ashton Gate Stadium in Bristol and comprised finalists from across Bristol, Gloucestershire, Dorset and Cornwall.

Pictured: Julie Finch with Stephen Martin, director general of the Institute of Directors.