Adrian Green, the manager of not-for-profit company Unity Enterprise which promotes community-based entrepreneurship in Leeds, has been shortlisted for a Yorkshire Leadership Award.
He is one of five contenders in the Public and Third Sector category for the awards which “celebrate the people that are role models within their organisations and raise the bar for their competitors.”
Established as a not-for-profit subsidiary of BME-led housing association Unity Homes and Enterprise in 2000, Unity Enterprise provides 142 managed workspaces for more than 90 local businesses in three facilities – Unity Business Centre, Chapeltown Enterprise Centre and Leeds Media Centre – close to Leeds city centre.
The number of units increased in the summer of 2023 following the completion of a £1.8 million Leeds Media Centre redevelopment scheme, overseen by Mr Green in partnership with Leeds City Council and the European Regional Development Fund, which created 12 new business units and a bespoke business hub which is due to open shortly.
Adrian Green
Mr Green, who joined Unity Enterprise in 2016, said: “I am deeply humbled to be shortlisted.
“Works to redevelop Leeds Media Centre began in the autumn of 2022, so I regard this recognition as acknowledgement of a year-long team effort that has delivered an outstanding community resource.
“My Unity Enterprise colleagues deserve immense credit for what has been achieved, together with our tenants who continued to trade throughout the construction phase without complaint.
“More than 900 people are now employed across our three business centres, all contributing to local economic wellbeing.
“With the new hi-tech business hub set to open its doors early in the New Year, exciting times lie ahead for aspiring entrepreneurs in the city.”
Cedric Boston, Unity Homes and Enterprise chief executive, said: “Unity Enterprise’s primary purpose is to encourage and support local people to become self-employed and build sustainable businesses which employ individuals from the local area and help to regenerate deprived neighbourhoods.
“Adrian lives and breathes that mission and merits every bit of praise he receives.
“The leadership he demonstrated throughout the pandemic, when he was able to keep all three business centres safely open even during periods of lockdown, was outstanding.
“His management of the Leeds Media Centre refurbishment has rightly strengthened his reputation even further.”
The winners of the Yorkshire Leadership Awards 2024 will be announced on 21 March.