Comedian Jimmy Carr praises bereaved Corby entrepreneur Andy Gibney as he is crowned Ambassador of the Year at the National Entrepreneur of the Year Award

A Corby business leader has been crowned Ambassador of the Year at the National Entrepreneur of the Year Awards – despite his wife’s sudden death.

Andy Gibney scooped the Entrepreneurs’ Circle (EC) prize at a ceremony in Birmingham, hosted by comedian and TV presenter Jimmy Carr.

His success came just seven months after wife Kirsty passed away in her sleep.

The citation read by Mr Carr said: “Andy has endured a year that no one deserves to suffer. He has had a turbulent personal few months to say the least.

“Having lost his wife, Kirsty, earlier this year – he has certainly had a lot to deal with and come to terms with.

“Kirsty was not only his wife and best friend but played an important part of Andy’s EC Local meetings - helping him to deliver an amazing meeting to the Corby EC community.

“Andy was completely shattered by the passing of his wife Kirsty but he has continued to put his all into helping others with the growth of their businesses.”

Kirsty and Andy first met in 2001 when she became one of his martial arts students. She trained at Mr Gibney’s gym for 18 months but after a car crash gave her whiplash she didn’t return.

Andy said: “Seventeen years later she found me on Facebook and it still took two years for us to meet again.

“Things progressed quickly and we fell in love. I asked her to marry me in November 2020 and we married on April 30 2021 at Gretna Green. We were married for 10 months when she died.”

Together, Kirsty and Andy had been running the monthly business meetings at the Corby Enterprise Centre together helping the self-employed community grow their businesses.

Mr Carr added: “Despite the situation he finds himself in, Andy has never cancelled an EC Local meeting and has shown up each month with a smile, a positive attitude, expert business advice and bags of enthusiasm for helping others.

“Where many would have turned their back on others and focused on themselves, Andy has done the opposite and for this, we salute him. A true inspiration to us all.”