Broadcaster Rob McLoughlin and entrepreneur Lawrence Jones were among those recognised in the New Year honours list.
Former World in Action investigator McLoughlin, who received an OBE for services to broadcasting in the North West, said he was “humbled and surprised” by the news.
Rob McLoughlin
He said: “I see It really as a tribute to the great journalistic and production teams I have worked with over many decades at Granada Television and now in ITV – it’s been a privilege to work with so many great people.”
Last year he became ITV’s longest serving presenter of political programmes and also founded Hasgrove plc, which became the only quoted media company based in Manchester when it floated on the stock exchange in 2006.
UKFast CEO Jones was awarded an MBE for services to the digital economy.
Lawrence Jones
He said: “As an entrepreneur you find yourself carrying on regardless, working your hardest, even when there are not many people who pat you on the back. So, it’s an emotional moment to receive something like this from the government, the Queen and country.”
Other regional names on the list included Robert Hough, the former chairman of the Northwest Regional Development Agency, but controversially there was no award for Gary Verity, the Welcome to Yorkshire chief executive who brought the Tour de France to the county last summer.
Also named in the list is Dianne Gibbons, court reporter with Staffordshire daily The Sentinel, who started working on the paper in 1962.
