Two business leaders – David Meyerowitz and Ruth Hartnoll – are named chair and deputy chair of the new Liverpool City Region Business and Enterprise Board

David Meyerowitz and Ruth Hartnoll are named as chair and deputy chair of the new Liverpool City Region Business and Enterprise Board that will provide a voice for businesses in Merseyside.

As chief executive of Haier Europe, part of Haier Smart Home, David has 40 years of experience in the domestic appliance market. Haier owns household brands such as Hoover and Candy. Originally from Chiswick, David lives in Wirral.

“The new board will be a high-level leadership group, with excellent representation from a wide variety of businesses and sectors,” he said.

“Our objective will be to capture and interpret the voice of business from the region to help formulate relevant and effective strategic plans for the Combined Authority to consider.” 

Ruth Hartnoll is a former member of the city region’s Digital and Creative sector board. She is chief executive of Liverpool marketing agency Matchstick Creative, which she co-founded in 2018.

“After serving for three years on the Digital and Creative Board I’m excited to bring what I’ve learnt in that role to my deputy chair position. My focus is always on creating a fairer, more equitable business landscape.

“With gender parity now present across our boards and the desire to build a fairer, stronger, cleaner city region, our collaborative team has the chance to shake things up in the best way.”

Bringing the business voice directly into the Combined Authority’s policy-making processes will enable it to work more closely and directly with businesses.

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Following a national review of the work of Local Enterprise Partnerships, the Combined Authority was required by the Government to integrate the functions of the LEP into its own governance structure.

Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram added: “Thriving local businesses are the backbone of our economy. For our area to flourish, we need to help them to succeed.

“I’m really looking forward to working with David and Ruth, who both bring a wealth of experience with them, to see where the board takes us on our journey to make our area the best place in the country to live, work and run a business in.”