It has launched a recruitment drive to catch the eye of key players from companies across the region who could swell the ranks of the Business Board and increase its muscle at a critical time.
The Business Board – the local enterprise partnership which advises the Combined Authority and gives industry and commerce powerful influence on decision-making - is keen to sign up more women, more entrepreneurs, more business leaders from black and ethnic minorities, and more big hitters from small and medium sized ventures.
Cambridgeshire & Peterborough Mayor James Palmer said: “We want a vigorous mix of the brightest and best, eager to step up and take a lead. Thinkers and doers, they’ll have a defining hand in delivering growth for the whole area. Actioning the LIS is a key part of the Business Board role, realising the clear interventions to get things moving, helping firms to grow, become more productive, and increase their reach into regional and global markets.
“We’re after business people whose depth of experience aligns to our strategic aims, and who match high levels of integrity with the commitment to address challenges facing our business community and the population we serve.”
The LIS spells out the chief areas of action needed to support the Combined Authority's plan to double the size of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough economy - building joined-up transport links, increasing apprenticeships and tailoring more adult education courses to business requirements, skilling applicants to apply for well-paid local jobs, boosting productivity and growth across the distinct economies of The Fens, Greater Peterborough, and Greater Cambridge.
Interim Chair of the Business Board Austen Adams said: “It’s an incredibly exciting and important time to be part of the Business Board as we engage Cambridgeshire and Peterborough companies in realising the Local Industrial Strategy across the region. There’s lots to do and we need the right leaders to step up. And it’s crucial that the Board both represents and reflects the business community it is championing.”
Cambridgeshire and Peterborough already punches far above its weight. It has the best performing economy in the country outside London, it generates £23.7bn of national output, and it has seen employment levels surge by 3.3 per cent over the last six years. It contributes over £5 billion a year to the UK Treasury, has two of the top five fastest growing cities in the UK, and its historic university heritage is matched by the innovative thrust of agile young businesses blazing trails in research, development and tech.
The Business Board currently has six private sector members and one from the public sector. It seeks to recruit six new members to increase the breadth of experience, ensuring smooth management of all portfolios across the busy workflow. A permanent Chair will also be appointed in due course. Board members are appointed for an initial period of up to three years and can serve a maximum of six years, and it is hoped that the new board members will be in place by Autumn 2019.