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GLL's MD wins social enterprise award
Mark Sesnan, managing director of award-winning social enterprise GLL, scooped the top award in the social enterprise category in the London and South regional final for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2012.
Mark Sesnan, who won the award for being one of the team that founded GLL - an organisation combining social enterprise with strong 'value based' business ethics - will now join 13 other regional finalists to compete for the prestigious business award final for inspiring entrepreneurs held in October.
GLL is the pioneering worker-owned, charitable social enterpirse that first took over the operation of Greenwich Council's leisure centres in 1993 as an innovative 'spin out'. In its first year of operation GLL had a turnover of £5m, with 150 employees operating in one one London borough. By 2010, turnover was around £80m and GLL now operates more than 100 public leisure centres across the South of England and York.
GLL also operates all public leisure centres in the five Olympic Host boroughs and is a key player in the delivery of the Olympic Games in London and in the legacy for East London. The GLL 'model' has been replicated in more than 120 local authorities throughout the United Kingdom.
Comments Sesnan: "I am delighted to receive this award in this very special year for GLL. As a manager, you have to free people to be innovative and creative and by developing staff and growing the business, we can provide more career opportunities for our people and deliver added value services to the community. Staff are in control of making that happen. They have ownership and empowerment.
"Success is all about individual motivation. Our enterprising employees are behind GLL's innovative sports programming leading to this year's contract win to run two permanent Olympic venues – the Aquatics Centre and the Multi-Use Arena - enabling us to further boost employment as well as offering affordable and accessible training and sporting opportunities for all".
As well as winning the contract to deliver world class legacy facilities in two permanent Olympic venues, GLL has also moved into library management and now operates public library services across the borough of Greenwich.
With the aim of providing local jobs as well as offering good, local services, GLL recruits 69% of staff from within a three mile postcode and works with local colleges and schools on training schemes to get youngsters into work.
The Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award is considered the world's most prestigious business award. All 14 regional finalists were chosen for their innovation, entrepreneurship, risk taking and desire to grow the business.