Bermudian Kennette J. Burgess has been recognised as one of the top business leaders in North Carolina.

The Triad Business Journal hosted its Annual 40 Under 40 Award Ceremony to honour 40 leaders in business and community in the Triad North Carolina region.

Among them was Ms Burgess, named after her father, Kenneth “Pop” Leroy Simmons Jr, who honoured him when she accepted the award.

“Good evening. First giving all honour to God,” she said at the awards ceremony. “Special thanks to my mother, Lovette, family, friends, church family and clients for supporting me. 2023 was a tough year with my father passing, so this award is dedicated to him.”

Ms Burgess, the CEO of Focus Marketing and Development Solutions, said her father would have been 66 on Wednesday, adding that she knew he would have been happy at her achievement.

Ms Burgess lives between North Carolina and Bermuda and has more than 19 years of marketing and business experience.

She has won several awards in the past including the 2022 Winston-Salem State University Alumni Achiever Award and Bermuda’s BEDC 2021 Female Entrepreneur of the Year.