Leading figures from sectors including maritime and automotive are named as members of the new Liverpool City Region Business and Enterprise Board. Tony McDonough reports
Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram has unveiled the full list of members of the new Liverpool City Region Business and Enterprise Board.
In August David Meyerowitz, chief executive of domestic appliance business Haier Europe, and Ruth Hartnoll, chief executive of Liverpool marketing agency Matchstick Creative, were named as chair and deputy chair respectively of the board.
It has taken over the role of the Local Enterprise Partnership in providing a voice for businesses across the city region.
Notable figures on the board include Ruth Wood, interim chief executive of Mersey Maritime. Ruth took on her current role in the summer following the departure of Chris Shirling-Rooke, who left to join Maritime UK.
She spent eight years working for Port of Liverpool operator Peel Ports and played a key role in the opening of the £400m Liverpool2 container terminal. Ruth joined Mersey Maritime as head of commercial five years ago.
Along with the Mersey Maritime team she has helped create one of the most successful maritime clusters in Europe. Liverpool city region’s maritime sector is worth £5.6bn a year and employs more than 45,000 people.
Ruth said: “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.
“With maritime contributing £5.6bn to the Liverpool city region economy through business turnover and supporting more than 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.”
Also on the board is Trevor Leeks, operations director at the Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) factory in Halewood. It employs more than 3,500 people and will assemble a new all-electric vehicle by 2025 as part of a £15bn investment by JLR into its global operations.
An “extensive” recruitment process was used to choose the board members. There were applications from 65 candidates.
Steve Rotheram said: “Thriving local businesses are the backbone of our economy and, for our area to flourish, we need them to succeed.
“Through our new Business and Enterprise Board, we have pulled together a team that boasts decades of hand-on experience at leading organisations.
“It’s my hope that their knowledge and insight will help us to join-up our thinking with fresh ideas to grow our economy.”
Full list of board members:
- David Meyerowitz, chair, CEO of Haier Europe
- Ruth Hartnoll, deputy chair, co-founder and CEO of Matchstick Creative
- Ruth Wood, interim CEO of Mersey Maritime
- Trevor Leeks, operations director at Jaguar Land Rover in Halewood
- Rachael Hennigan, principal and CEO of Hugh Baird College
- Utubakwu Michael Ushie, CEO of Prime Atlantic
- Melanie Lewis, CEO of Shakespeare North
- Lynn Haime, CEO of Baltic Creative
- Jennifer Van Der Merwe, director of Kindred-LCR
- Mohammed Tawhidul Islam, managing director of Islam & Co Chartered Accountants
- Professor Mark Power, vice-chancellor and CEO of Liverpool John Moores University
- Professor Tim Jones, vice-chancellor, University of Liverpool
- Rachael Baker, managing director of JJ Smith & Co
Co-opted members include:
- Dom Potter, managing director of the Low Carbon Business School
- Elliot Street, CEO and co-founder of Inovus Medical
- Professor Katherine Royse, director of the Hartree Centre