The judges noted Ridgewell's "high-conviction calls", which were supported by detailed research delivered as written reports and through face-to-face meetings.
Ridgewell, who covers the aged care, technology, healthcare and dairy sectors, started in the industry in 2007 - right on the cusp of the global financial crisis.
"It was an interesting start to my career for sure, and a baptism of fire for a junior analyst," he says.
"I very quickly got opportunities to cover stocks - so in the first year I was covering about 10 companies, which is quite unusual.
"The creative destruction in the form of a downturn in the industry offered opportunities for a young guy like myself coming through."
Ridgewell joined Craigs from Macquarie in 2012.
When he started coverage of Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, the company had a market capitalisation of $1 billion compared with $20b today.
Likewise, Ryman was worth $1b when he started coverage, compared with its current market cap of $7b.
It hasn't all been one way, though. "I also picked up Rakon, which was not quite so successful, but it did get me into becoming a software and tech analyst, which has been an interesting part of my career," he says.
"The approach that I have tried to take is to do in-depth research - so talking to management, talking to competitors and really trying to do on-the-ground analysis."
This is the fourth time that Ridgewell has been made Analyst of the Year - he first won the title in 2012.
