MacLean, who has grown Drake & Morgan to five sites over three years, is one of four high-flying businesswomen to be nominated for the award, the past winners of which include Laura Tenison, founder of JoJo Maman Bebe and Carolyn McCall, former chief executive of the Guardian Media Group.
She competes against Susie Hewson, director of feminine hygiene brand Natracare, Michelle McDowell MBE, chairman of Civil and Structural Engineering at BDP, and Joanna Shields, EMEA vice-president of social networking site Facebook.
Now in its 39th year, the awards celebrate the entrepreneurial women who have made a significant contribution to business life, through financial and commercial success and corporate responsibility.
Sally Warmington, Marketing Director of Veuve Clicquot said: “The award also looks for those women that are able to act as more than just an example of a successful business woman, but rather an inspiration and mentor for future female entrepreneurs; our judges believe that all of our four finalists have demonstrated this quality.”
Rising Star
MacLean was last year identified as a hospitality industry Rising Star at M&C Report’s annual Retailers’ Retailer of the Year awards. Her inaugural site – the Refinery near London’s Tate Modern – was also named Best Venue.
The group recently launched its fourth site The Folly in the City, and announced it will launch a fifth venue, The Drift, within Bishopsgate’s Heron Tower at the end of May.
She started her career at her family-owned hotel in Scotland, before working at Mitchells & Butlers and the Spirit Group.
It is thought that a win for MacLean as the Veuve Cliquot Business Woman of the Year may help boost the perception of the hospitality industry as a worthwhile career in the eyes of jobseekers.