The Business Board has been strengthened with the appointment of five private sector members with a wide range of experience and expertise.
The Business Board supports the Combined Authority in its work to grow the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough economy sustainably, ensuring that the voice of business is heard in decision-making.
After the appointment in the summer of Al Kingsley as the new Chair of the Board, a recruitment process began to fill the member vacancies. Private sector members of the Business Board sit in an independent capacity.
The five appointees are:
Katy Davies: Katy is the Managing Director of eVolve Your Future, a national skills provider which holds multiple contracts to deliver the national numeracy programme Multiply and adult education to transform prospects and drive economic growth. She started her career at Deloitte before moving to Cambridge aerospace and defence company Marshall, where she held senior leadership roles in finance before moving into operations transformation. As Managing Director of CamdenBoss, a Suffolk-based manufacturer of electronic components and enclosures, she led the turnaround, growth, and diversification of the business. Katy is also a board member of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), Deputy Chair of NAAME and is also the Chair of the Regional Productivity Forum.
Her visionary leadership and commitment to positive change have earned her recognition as a Manufacturer Top 100 Exemplar for Inspiring Leadership. She has regular speaking slots and has been featured in the Wall Street Journal.
Sam Bakri: Sam is a healthcare entrepreneur who has founded several life sciences businesses including Kind Consumer, Gelmetix and Solascure where he was CEO. He has previously been an advisor to the Department for International Trade with the Global Entrepreneur Programme. He is currently a board member of Neutron therapeutics, and chairs the business advisory board of Aviko radiopharmaceuticals. He has previous experience in the pharmaceutical industry. Sam holds a medical degree from Guy’s and St. Thomas' Hospital in London, and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he was a Fulbright scholar.
Charlotte Horobin: Charlotte is Chief Executive Officer of the Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, a leading business representative organisation which champions economic prosperity across Cambridgeshire, Peterborough and Stamford. Charlotte became CEO of Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce in July 2023. Before joining Cambridgeshire Chambers of Commerce, she held the position of Region Director, Midlands and East of England at Make UK, the national body for UK manufacturing.
Charlotte is a member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Business Advisory Panel and is also a member of the University of Cambridge Industry Advisory Board for manufacturing engineering undergraduate and graduate programmes.
Barnaby Perks: Barnaby is an engineer, entrepreneur and business builder with global experience across multiple business sectors. In recent years he has specialised in digital health innovation, especially tools for diagnosing and treating mental health conditions. He has built university spinouts from both Cambridge and Oxford Universities as well as the University of Colorado in the US. As founding CEO of Cambridge-based Ieso Digital Health, he built the UK’s leading provider of online mental health therapy services to the NHS. He is active in businesses in both the UK and US, where he focuses on building high-performing teams around an effective and inclusive business culture.
Andy Williams: Andy was previously a co-opted member of the Business Board and is now a full member. After 30 years within the biopharmaceutical industry, Andy recently established his own consultancy business advising clients in the areas of strategy, policy development and engagement.
Andy is Chair of the recently established OxCam Supercluster Board (SCB), comprised of globally recognised scientific enterprises, investors and world-leading universities alongside the Local Enterprise Partnerships for the region.
In his previous role at AstraZeneca, Andy oversaw the move and integration of the organisation into the Cambridge area ahead of their move onto the Cambridge Biomedical Campus. Andy is active in the Cambridge business community, sitting on the boards of Cambridge Ahead and Cambridge Network and is the Business Board representative on the Greater Cambridge Partnership Executive Board.
Chair of the Business Board, Al Kingsley, said: “The breadth of knowledge and experience our newly appointed Board members bring with them will be invaluable at a time when we face very significant economic challenges.
“The range of backgrounds from different economic sectors will be an important addition to our work providing the Combined Authority with the best possible advice and support in its goal to sustainably double the size of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough economy.”
Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Dr Nik Johnson said: “The Business Board is an integral part of the Combined Authority and the voice of business is important in meeting our targets to deliver sustainable, fairer economic growth and transition to a net zero carbon economy. I’m looking forward to working with the new Board members and making the most of the range of insights they will bring.”
Business Board members also sit on the Combined Authority’s Transport, Skills and Environment and Sustainable Communities committees, enabling their insights to support the breadth of the Combined Authority’s programmes of work.
The Business Board’s responsibilities include the ongoing monitoring of the £146 million Local Growth Fund which has provided funding to support local businesses, improve skills, and support better infrastructure. The Board also supports the delivery of the region’s industrial strategy, called the Economic Growth Strategy.
