Two Kent bosses are in line for a prestigious regional accolade.

Mark Lumsdon-Taylor, finance and resource director at Hadlow College, and Paul Winter, 61, managing director of Wire Belt, Sittingbourne, have been shortlisted in the Institute of Directors London and South East Director of the Year Awards.

Mr Lumsdon-Taylor, 35, who has played a major role in transforming the fortunes of a once-ailing college - it is now one of the UK's leading land-based educational centres - is hoping to win the chairman's award for not-for-profit organisations.

Mr Winter, 61, is shortlisted in the International Director category for businesses with a turnover up to £4.99m. He has been at Wire Belt for more than 30 years and during that time, exports have risen to 57 per cent of turnover.

He said: "A milestone was reached with our first sale to Oman, which allowed us to prove the worldwide appeal of our conveyor belting. From that day, we were able to claim that we exported to countries beginning with every letter of the alphabet other than X. (We do not think there is a country beginning with X!)."

The awards are sponsored by PricewaterhouseCoopers. John Minards, its south east regional leader, said: "The standard of applicants this year was extremely high and we would like to congratulate all those that made the shortlist.

"It was fantastic to see so many business leaders come forward that have taken steps to manage and develop their business through one of the most challenging periods in recent economic history."

Finalists will hear the verdict at a gala dinner in London on March 23. The presentation ceremony will be hosted by GMTV's Emma Cosby, with Gerald Ratner, former chief executive of Ratners jewellers, as the keynote speaker.