Mayor Steve Rotheram has announced appointments to a new Business and Enterprise Board for the Liverpool City Region. The new board has taken over the role of the Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) in providing a voice for business in the area.
Business leaders from across the city region and its key growth sectors have been named on the new board including Interim CEO of Mersey Maritime, Ruth Wood.
New Business and Enterprise Board appointed
In appointing the Board, the Combined Authority has worked hard to ensure gender balance, ethnic diversity
In appointing the Board, the Combined Authority has worked hard to ensure gender balance, ethnic diversity, and geographic representation across all six areas of the Liverpool City Region.
Speaking about the new Board, Mayor Steve Rotheram said: “Thriving local businesses are the backbone of our economy and, for our area to flourish, we need them to succeed."
He adds, "Through our new Business and Enterprise Board, we have pulled together a team that boasts decades of hand-on experience at leading organisations and, it’s my hope, that their knowledge and insight will help us to join-up our thinking with fresh ideas to grow our economy.”
Ensuring Liverpool City Region is home of ‘good’ business
Steve Rotheram adds, “I want the Liverpool City Region to be the home of ‘good’ business and I’m looking forward to seeing where the Board will take us on our journey to making our area the best place in the country to live, work and run a business in.”
Speaking about her appointment on the Business and Enterprise Board, Ruth Wood, Interim Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mersey Maritime commented: “I am delighted to have been selected to be part of the new Business and Enterprise Board, to work alongside the Combined Authority and fellow board members to help shape the strategic direction of the region’s economy.”
Inclusion of a maritime representative on the Board critical
It is a privilege to take up that role and to act as a voice for the industry and wider business community"
Ruth Wood adds, “With maritime contributing £5.6 billion to the Liverpool City Region’s economy through business turnover and supporting over 45,000 jobs, the inclusion of a maritime representative on the Board was critical. It is a privilege to take up that role and to act as a voice for the industry and wider business community in the region.”
Board Members
- David Meyerowitz (Chair) – Chief Executive of Haier Europe
- Ruth Hartnoll (Deputy Chair) – Co-founder and CEO of Matchstick Creative
- Rachael Baker – Managing Director of JJ Smith & Co.
- Lynn Haime – CEO of Baltic Creative CIC
- Rachael Hennigan – Principal and CEO of Hugh Baird College
- Mohammed Tawhidul Islam – Managing Director of Islam & Co. Chartered Accountants
- Prof. Tim Jones – Vice Chancellor of the University of Liverpool
- Trevor Leeks – Operations Director at JLR Halewood
- Melanie Lewis – CEO of Shakespeare North
- Prof. Mark Power – Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive of LJMU
- Utubakwu Michael Ushie – CEO of Prime Atlantic
- Jennifer Van Der Merwe – Director of Kindred LCR CIC
- Ruth Wood – Interim CEO of Mersey Maritime
Co-opted Members
- Dom Potter – Managing Director at Low Carbon Business School
- Prof. Katherine Royse – Director at Hartree Centre
- Elliot Street – CEO and Co-founder of Inovus Medical
