Elaine Bowker, principal of The City of Liverpool College, has been appointed to the LEP board and Kate Eugeni is the chamber’s new director of visitor economy

Liverpool City Region Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) and Wirral Chamber of Commerce have both made high-profile appointments aimed at driving forward the Merseyside economy.

Elaine Bowker, principal of The City of Liverpool College, has been appointed to the LEP board and Kate Eugeni is the chamber’s new director of visitor economy, stepping up from her previous role at director of enterprise and education.

Elaine Bowker

Ms Bowker, who was appointed to the LEP board following an open recruitment process, is principal of the largest further education college in the Liverpool city region delivering academic, technical and professional skills across further education, higher education and apprenticeships.

Her previous roles include strategic director of transformation at Manchester City Council and area director for Greater Merseyside at the Learning and Skills Council. She said: “The skills gap is an issue faced by many industries and businesses across the country, and I’m passionate about working with fellow board members to put skills at the top of the agenda and bring about positive change.”

Kate Eugeni

Ms Eugeni’s takes on her role as the Wirral’s tourism economy continues to grow. It has grown by 39% since 2011 and now worth more than £400m. It supports 5,150 full-time equivalent jobs, and attracts over 8.5m day and short break visitors each year.

Her role will focus on the strengthening of the current visitor economy network locally and nationally. She said: “I am excited to be taking over this role, visitor economy is worth over £400 million to Wirral, however, it has the opportunities and potential to become much bigger.

“A vibrant visitor economy will make local services viable, supporting local infrastructure and the creation of jobs.

“Next year will see Wirral as the Borough of Culture for the Liverpool city region, and throughout the year we will see a series of events take place with visitors from all over the world coming to see what Wirral has to offer.”