Peter Shergold, 38, from Walsall served in the British Army for 14 years before becoming Head of Field Operations at Cats Protection in November 2021. The charity helps 166,000 cats each year through a network of 210 volunteer-run branches and 34 Adoption Centres.

Prior to this, he worked at St John’s Ambulance, where he oversaw the charity’s clinical events and led the recruitment and training of 30,500 vaccinator volunteers to support the NHS during the recent pandemic.

These achievements have seen him nominated in the Rising Star category. Peter will find out if he has won the award at a ceremony at The Grosvenor Hotel, London, on 8 September.

He said: “I am very proud to be nominated for this award. I picked up a lot of skills and experience in the Army that hopefully will come in very useful as Cats Protection embarks on its own mission to help more cats over the next 10 years through the expansion of its rehoming, neutering and information work.

“These awards celebrate the qualities that army veterans can bring to businesses and charities and I hope they encourage more employers to offer more assistance and re-training to ex-service personnel who are looking for a career change.”

Further information about the awards can be found at exforcesinbusiness.co.uk