Business and education leaders recognised in New Year's Honours List

Lancashire business and educational leaders and entrepreneurs have been recognised in the New Year's Honours List.

Blackburn born Mo Isap, chief executive of IN4 Group, will be given an OBE in the New Year’s Honours List for services to education and skills.

The honour recognises Mo’s 30-year career as an entrepreneur, business leader and education advocate, and his continued contribution to improving access to education, skills and career opportunities, particularly for people from underrepresented and underserved backgrounds.

Mo is the founder of the IN4 Group, an award-winning international professional technology training and skills provider. 

It works with schools, colleges, employers, and government to unlock local talent and support economic growth, with a strong focus on fair access to technology careers, including apprenticeships that support progression into highly skilled, long-term employment.

IN4 Group has supported more than 6,000 people into technology roles, delivered technology careers education to more than 2,000 schools and colleges, and upskilled over 1,000 creative technology freelancers.

He holds several senior education and civic leadership roles.

He is a founding director and vice chair of trustees at Star Academies, one of the country’s leading Multi Academy Trusts, with over 22,000 students across 35 Schools nationwide.

He is chair of the Lancashire Business Board and board director of The Careers and Enterprise Company. He previously served as trustee of The Duke of Edinburgh Award.

Mo said: “I’m deeply honoured to receive this award for services to education and skills. It reflects a lifetime of work across education, skills and enterprise, and the belief that talent exists everywhere if people are given the right opportunities.

“Education is where long-term change happens, and it plays a vital role in creating opportunity for individuals, families and communities.

“I’ve been fortunate to work with partners across education and industry who share a commitment to widening access and ensuring more people can progress into meaningful careers.

“Skills are central to productivity, inclusion and long-term economic growth, which is why sustained investment in people, alongside technology, matters so much.”

Lisa O'Loughlin, principal and chief executive of East Lancashire Learning Group, will be awarded a CBE.

Since becoming chief executive of East Lancashire Learning Group in December 2022, Lisa has led with clarity, ambition and a deep commitment to learners and communities.

East Lancashire Learning Group remains the only college group in England to have held Ofsted Outstanding status for 20 consecutive years, with its fourth consecutive outstanding inspection in December 2024.

Alongside her leadership in Lancashire, Lisa has also played a significant role in shaping education policy nationally.

She is one of only two further education leaders appointed to the government’s curriculum and assessment review panel, helping to inform recommendations that will influence learning for millions of young people across England for years to come.

She also serves on the Young People and Work Group, focused on improving how young people are supported into education, training and sustainable employment.

Lisa said: “I’m truly humbled by this award and deeply grateful to those who took the time to nominate me.

"Excellence in education is never the result of individual effort; it is built through strong collaboration between students, parents, employers, partners and the exceptional teachers and support colleagues I have the privilege to work alongside every day.

"I’m immensely proud of what we achieve together, and thankful that our collective commitment is being recognised at a national level.”

Jane Cole, managing director of Blackpool Transport Services has been given an OBE for services to public transport and to the community in Blackpool.

She has led Blackpool Transport since 2014 and made a huge contribution to improving bus and tram services for Fylde Coast residents, as well as the 18 million visitors the area attracts each year.

Since joining the organisation after more than three decades in the rail industry, she has seen the operator scoop numerous industry awards.

She said: “It really is a privilege to serve the people of Blackpool and the surrounding areas, and I receive this award with humility.

"This recognition belongs as much to the people who have inspired and supported me as it does to me.

“It has been an honour to work with so many remarkable people here on the Fylde Coast over the past 12 years, and during 35 years in the wider rail industry.

“I am also grateful for having the opportunity to make a contribution to public transport, a sector that brings together communities and is vitally important to so many people who rely on it every day.”

Throughout her career, Jane has been a strong advocate for women in transport, and in 2021 became the first female president of the industry trade association The Confederation of Passenger Transport.

She is also a non-executive director of the Road Operators Safety Council and the Light Rail Safety and Standards Board.

A past President of the North and Western Lancashire Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Lancashire Combined County Authority Business Board and a Board Member of Blackpool and Fylde College.

Former Dragons Den star and Bacup entrepreneur Piers Linney is to receive an MBE for services to small business, to entrepreneurs, to investors, to banking and to diversity and social mobility.

The former investment banker is the executive chair of Implement AI.

A statement on his LinkedIn page said the honour reflects his work over the last two decades 'supporting business owners and leaders, my role on the board of British Business Bank during the pandemic, and my long-standing focus on widening access to opportunity through diversity and inclusion'.

He added: "The next phase of my work will focus on supporting organisations to embrace and implement AI to boost productivity and competitiveness.

"I’m also determined to play my part with the Implement AI team to ensure that the UK, a country that gave my parents and me opportunities that would have been unavailable elsewhere, helps shape, and benefits from, the fourth industrial revolution."

Alain Dilworth, one of the original architects of the Made Smarter Adoption programme, has been awarded an MBE for services to business growth and digitalisation in the King’s New Year Honours List.

Alain, from Chorley, has played a pivotal role in shaping and delivering Made Smarter since its inception in 2018, working closely with government and industry to design a national programme that helps manufacturing SMEs adopt digital technologies, strengthen leadership capability and improve productivity.

As programme manager for the North West adoption programme, delivered by The Growth Company, he oversaw the launch of the £20m, three-year pilot initiative that established the blueprint for national rollout. He has since worked with the Department for Business and Trade to develop the adoption model now delivered in all English regions.

Alain said: “This was completely unexpected and a lovely surprise, and I would like to thank His Majesty for bestowing this honour upon me. At the same time, I see this as recognition of the Made Smarter team, past and present, who have been fundamental in turning an ambitious idea into a programme that is delivering real impact for manufacturers across the country.”

After a 25-year career in manufacturing, Alain moved into economic development with the North West Development Agency before joining The Growth Company, where he has delivered a number of regional and national government-funded programmes.