A young entrepreneur who launched her own social media agency three years ago has been crowned Birmingham Young Professional of the Year (BYPY) 2014.
Jodie Cole, who runs JC Social Media based in New Street, won the overall prize at last night's annual award ceremony after being named marketing and communications professional of the year.
She has acted as a social media expert for a pilot TV show and been invited to join a group of 12 ambassadors for a start-up loan scheme chaired by former BBC Dragon James Caan.
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Ms Cole also co-founded Clever Tykes, a set of children's storybooks which aims to promote positive entrepreneurial role models to children.
Judges said she was a natural leader who embodied everything that BYPY was about.
Chairman of event organiser BPS Birmingham Future Suzie Branch said: "Jodie hugely impressed with her refreshing attitude and really shone out as a person who we believe will continue to inspire other young professionals in the city to achieve greatness."
BYPY recognised six category winners, an aspiring talent and inspiring leader.
The other category winners were Jemal Omar, corporate banking manager with Handelsbanken (finance); Tony Bates, managing partner at IDEX Consulting (HR, recruitment and training); Laura Cashmore, senior associate at DLA Piper (legal); Marianne Horton, land manager at Barratt & David Wilson Homes (property and construction); and Chris Pyatt, co-founder of Class Creative (technology).
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The 2014 inspiring leader, which recognises a significant contribution to the city's business community, was named as Andrew Harrison, regional managing director with Royal Bank of Scotland.
Mr Harrison is one the youngest managing directors within a global organisation and has been recognised for both his work with Birmingham's professional services sector and his mentoring roles.
He is also part of the inward investment committee at Marketing Birmingham and a board member of the Birmingham Leadership Foundation, a charity aimed at nurturing and championing young leaders.
The Aspiring Talent award was launched two years ago for 16 to 23 year olds currently in further or higher education and looking to embark on a career in the BPS sector in the city.
The winner was Magdalena Tulacz who is studying a business and management degree at Aston University.
She moved to the 海角视频 from Poland aged 15 and, despite limited knowledge of English, passed GCSE and A-level exams and has recently completed a 12-month placement with financial services firm EY.
Chairman of BYPY Claudia Santillo said: "I'm incredibly proud to have chaired this year's awards, which not only re-introduced the technology category but also received record levels of entries and the highest attendance in its 14-year history.
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"The wealth of young professionals that we have in this city is incredibly impressive and I really believe our finalists and winners to be the crème of the crop - I'm excited to see what the future holds for them all."
The 2014 ceremony was hosted by BBC Breakfast presenter and journalist Naga Munchetty and held at the ICC.