St Neots businessman Ross Hovey has been named in the Disability Power 100 as one of the 100 most influential disabled people in the UK - working to break the stigma around disability and create a more accessible and inclusive world for all.

The Disability Power 100 celebrates ambition and achievement and is all about creating change. It plays a role in changing society by recognising the strengths and talents of disabled people who are pioneers, changemakers and influencers.

Ross, who lives in Hail Weston, has been named in the Business and Finance Power 100 Category.

He has had an impressive career, having joined Lloyds Banking Group on their 2001 graduate programme.  

Following 14 years in various roles, he joined the Group Disability, Mental Health & Neurodiversity team in 2015, where for the last eight years he has been integral to the group’s continued disability inclusion progress.  

Now as accessibility manager, he leads on creating more accessible workplaces by collaborating with and challenging the property division to push branch and office design beyond compliance, as well as the processes and policies which support these.  

One of his greatest achievements was influencing Lloyds Banking Group to be one of the first employers to install a Changing Places Facility in their head office for both colleagues and the public.  

He continued his determination and gained commitment for these facilities to be part of their building design standards (where physically possible).

Coupled with his career, his 40+ years of lived disability experience has enabled him to collaborate externally with other disability initiatives to create a more accessible world.  

Gatwick Airport, East West Rail, AccessAble, Liverpool FC and Permobil to name a few, are organisations who benefit from his knowledge and passion.  Most significantly, in 2018 Ross co-founded Changing Places International, a not-for- profit organisation striving to set the global standard and adoption of fully inclusive toilets around the world.

His mantra is to be a positive pragmatist who challenges the barriers he and his disabled community face and his story telling is authentic with a strong sense of reality and good humour.  

His biggest piece of advice was given by his father, who still tells him to this day that there is no such word as “can’t”.  

As well as his career, he enjoys raising awareness around disability, accessibility and the significant role carers play in enabling disabled people to thrive both personally and professionally, he uses the hashtag #caringismorethancare.

“Nobody is coming to save you, disability or no disability, if you want to change your life, the world around you or achieve a goal, the only person who will drive that is you," he says.

A fifth of the UK’s population has a disability or impairment, however, there is very little recognition of successful and influential disabled people.

Disabled people are more likely to be unemployed, and the gap is widening, and until we change the public perception of disability, to recognise strong, successful, influential people who are leaders in their field, this gap will continue.

According to government figures the disability employment rate has increased by 9.2 percentage points from 43.4 per cent in July to September 2013 to 52.6 per cent in July to September 2022.

Previous winners of the Disability Power 100 number one spot have included comedian and presenter Alex Brooker, campaigner and peer Baroness Jane Campbell, BBC disability journalist Nikki Fox.

The 100 finalists were selected by an independent judging panel chaired by Andrew Miller MBE from more than 1,500 public nominations.  Full details of this year’s finalists can be found on www.disabilitypower100.com.

The top 10 and all-important top spot, will be announced on November 8 from The Drum, Wembley.