Sue Harmsworth, founder of ESPA and 50-year veteran of the spa and wellness and beauty industry, has been named as the recipient of the 2022 Leading Woman in Wellness award.

The accolade, given by the Global Wellness Institute, was presented at the 2022 Global Wellness Summit in Tel Aviv.

The emotional ceremony was enlivened by numerous heartfelt video messages from Harmsworth's grandchildren who applauded her entrepreneurial spirit, sense of fun and honesty.

In accepting the award, Harmsworth said: "This industry has been a lifetime's work for me. It gives us so much spirit and energy.

"During the Summit, we've been talking about the power of family," she said, "and this tribe of people who are driving change across the wellness industry keeps developing and changing and becoming more effective and dynamic.

"If I think back to the early days of my career and how life evolves," said Harmsworth, "I can see it goes in cycles and I believe the wellness industry is more important now than it has ever been."

In addition to being the driving force behind ESPA, Harmsworth has been responsible for the design of over 500 award-winning spas in 65 countries

She has also been awarded an MBE for services to the spa and beauty industry and is also a recipient of the ISPA Visionary Award.