Mark Reeve has stepped down from the Board which comprises one representative from each of Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge City Council, South Cambridge District Council, Cambridge University and the business community.
Claire is a long-standing champion for business in the Greater Cambridge area and leads Cambridge Network, an influential membership organisation promoting business and academic collaboration in global technology.
Claire has been a member of the Greater Cambridge Partnership’s (GCP) scrutiny body, the Joint Assembly, but will join the Board for the first time on 8 February.
Cllr Francis Burkitt, Chair of the GCP Executive Board, said: “On behalf of my colleagues, we are delighted that Claire has agreed to act as business representative on the Executive Board.
“As a member of the GCP’s Executive Board, Claire will not only bring the business voice to decision-making but has a wealth of knowledge on the ambitions of the Partnership, and progress to date.
“We have an exciting year ahead as we start to deliver some of the step-change projects to benefit our communities and support the vibrant Greater Cambridge economy. We look forward to working with Claire over the coming months.”
The LEP is currently in transition to a new Business Board, under the umbrella of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority.
Claire was asked to be the interim GCP Board business representative by joint agreement with the respective Chief Executive Officers and approval of members, and until the new Business Board is established.
Claire will also work with the wider business community to find a new representative to take her seat on the Assembly while she is on the Board.
Ms Ruskin said: “Joint teams can be challenging because of the different angles, but this agenda is important and we’ve got to a point where we now have good collaboration and great scope for making improvements for people in the region.
“We’ve collected evidence and projections for future growth and suggested ideas to test what people are prepared to try.
"We’ve listened to an enormous number of different ideas and come up with a plan for the things we can deliver and suggestions that other bodies, such as the Combined Authority, may be able to afford.
“I’m very happy to be part of the GCP, which is working hard to help people live and work here in our flourishing region.”
Claire Ruskin biography: Claire was born here and has lived around Cambridge for most of her life, with a technical training that has allowed her to deliver ambitious technical projects for a range of companies around the world. She went from lab technician to the Board at Cambridge Consultants and helped form several successful start-ups including CSR.
She moved to PA Technology in Melbourn in 2001 and took on Cambridge Network as part-time CEO in 2011, moving full-time to the Network role a year ago. The Network helps companies large and small to collaborate and be as good as they can be. Claire has been on various boards and works to help keep economic growth a positive thing.