Solent LEP seeking board members

Published by

Stephen Emerson

The Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has announced it is looking for local business leaders to join its Board of Directors.

The strategic delivery organisation states they welcome applications from all parts of the Solent region, and from all backgrounds. Alongside strategy development, the LEP is a major investor in the Solent economy and is delivering a growth programme valued at over £1.8bn supported by a LEP investment of more than £270m.

New board members will be joining a business-led partnership tasked with driving the economic success of the Solent area, successful applicants will play a key role in supporting the Solent economy to grow.

Rachael Randall, Solent LEP Chair, said: “Strong business leadership has never been more important for our local economy. LEP Business Directors play a critical role in developing the immediate programme of support provided by the Solent LEP, as well as shaping the region's longer-term strategy to unleash our area's distinctive strengths that can power our economy to increase productivity and support our communities to prosper in a fast-changing world.

“We are committed to driving green growth in the area and establishing the Solent as a globally leading decarbonisation cluster and I would encourage any business leader with a passion for supporting our local economy to apply."

The Board of Directors is made up of business, education and local authority Directors and they are the first LEP in the country to have a fully elected Board. Solent LEP Business Director positions are undertaken on a voluntary basis.

Rachael said: "The future of our economy in the aftermath of the Covid-19 pandemic looks very different and we have a unique opportunity as an area to shape this. We want to ensure the Solent can benefit from a diverse range of views and experience on this journey and are committed to having a Board which embraces diversity and promotes equality of opportunity within our economy. We are therefore particularly keen to encourage applications from female business leaders and business leaders from ethnic minority backgrounds. If you’re willing to play a key role in enhancing economic prospects within the area we would love to hear from you.”

The application process for Solent businesses to join the LEP as Business Members is also now open. Membership of the LEP is free and Business Members are integral to shaping the work of the organisation. There are many ways members can get involved with the LEP and Business Members have the opportunity to vote to elect Business Directors to the Board.

The Solent LEP will also shortly be opening an application process for business leaders and representatives from the voluntary, community and social enterprise sectors to join the LEP's Business Support Investment Panel and Skills Advisory Panel. Any individuals interested in these opportunities are also encouraged to register their interest now.

Please visit www.solentlep.org.uk for more information.

Stephen Emerson

Stephen Emerson is the Managing Editor of The Business Magazine and is responsible for the publication's print publications and online properties including the newly launched Biz News websites in Hampshire and Dorset. Stephen has been a journalist for 20 years and has worked at local, regional and national publications and led a team which made The Scotsman website one of the fastest growing news sites in the UK with over eight million monthly users. He has a keen interest in technology, property and corporate finance and telling the stories of the people behind the successful firms in these sectors.