Affordable Car Hire CEO Angela Day (left) and easyJet CEO Carolyn McCall (right) have been shortlisted in this year’s Inspiration Awards for women.
They are among six women who have been nominated for the ‘Most Aspirational’ award.
Voting starts on November 20 and runs for two weeks.
Angela Day and her husband James Moore, chairman of Affordable Car Hire, started the business in 2004, the beginning of the economic downturn, and had to remortgage their home, sell their car, and extend their credit cards to do so.
The garage was turned into an office, the utility room was a staff kitchen and Day was based in the lounge.
The business now boasts a multilingual website displaying more than 500 car rental companies in over 15,000 locations and 192 countries worldwide, and a sales team known as ‘Angela’s Angels’ covering the UK and Ireland.
Moore said the company was ‘delighted and proud’ that his wife has been shortlisted for this prestigious award.
"Her nomination is due to the role she has played in developing Affordable Car Hire to an award winning business within the travel sector and we hope our friends within the industry show their support by voting online," he added.
Day added: "I feel very humbled to have been nominated, and am surprised to see my name among those of so many fantastic and accomplished women."
Up against her in the same category is easyJet boss Carolyn McCall, who joined the airline in July 2010.
Under her leadership, in 2012 the company achieved record profits and paid a dividend for the first time and in 2013 the company entered the FTSE 100.
No stranger to awards, in 2008 McCall was given the OBE for services to women in business in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List and was named Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year.
This year she was asked by the Prime Minister to join his Business Advisory Group and was named business leader of the year at the National Business Awards.
The ‘Inspiration Awards’ for women celebrates the achievements of women from diverse backgrounds.
