Victoria Steele, founder of Bearhat Marketing, has been named a finalist in the Woman Who Achieves Awards 2026 – a prestigious national awards programme recognising outstanding women in business across the UK.
Founded by Sandra Garlick MBE, the Woman Who Achieves Awards celebrate female entrepreneurs and business leaders who are building, leading, and growing successful enterprises. Unlike many business awards, entries are judged entirely on merit through a two-stage process, with no public voting and no category boxes to tick. Finalists are selected from hundreds of entries by an independent panel of judges.
Victoria founded Bearhat Marketing to solve a problem she had seen repeatedly in her 12+ years working in marketing agencies: owner-led businesses struggling to grow without access to senior marketing leadership. Bearhat provides exactly that – embedded, accountable marketing direction for ambitious SMEs across Coventry, Birmingham, and the UK, without the cost of a full-time hire.
Commenting on the news, Victoria said: “Being a finalist is genuinely humbling. The Woman Who Awards judge on story and substance – and to be shortlisted in that context means so much to me.”
As a finalist, Victoria will take part in an online judging interview on 23rd March 2026. Winners will be announced at the Woman Who Live & Awards Lunch on 8th May 2026, held at the National Conference Centre in Solihull.
This finalist place follows a number of recent recognitions for Bearhat Marketing, including a previous Midlands Marketing Awards 2025 finalist position.
About Bearhat Marketing
Bearhat Marketing is an outsourced marketing director service for owner-led businesses. Founded by Victoria Steele and based in Coventry, Bearhat provides senior, embedded marketing leadership – combining strategy with hands-on execution – for ambitious SMEs ready to grow with confidence.
See bearhatmarketing.com for more.
