GFirst on hunt for new board member to promote advanced engineering and manufacturing

By Nicky Godding

30 September 2022

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GFirst Local Enterprise Partnership is on the hunt for a new Board member with extensive experience in the advanced engineering and manufacturing sector.

GFirst LEP's primary goal is to grow the economy of Gloucestershire and it has achieved significant success since its formation in 2011, successfully bidding for more than £113 million in capital projects and over £35 million of European funding.

The role of this voluntary position as a Board member will be to actively promote, celebrate and raise awareness of the advanced engineering and manufacturing sector including any current issues within it, champion the sector at Board level and work with its dedicated advanced engineering and manufacturing business group to identify areas in which the LEP can help this sector.

Ruth Dooley, Chair of GFirst LEP, said: “This role has come at a pivotal time for GFirst LEP as we play our central part in the government’s Levelling Up Agenda. The Government clearly recognises the vital role LEPs have played in sustaining local economic growth through the pandemic and supporting businesses throughout the country. The LEP’s actions will continue to be essential going forward as we navigate the upcoming challenges our economy faces on a national and local scale.

"Taking over the reins from long-standing Board member Neill Ricketts, CEO of Versarien plc, this position on the GFirst LEP board offers an exciting opportunity to represent the Advanced Engineering and Manufacturing sector within the collective independent voice of Gloucestershire.”

"We want to continue GFirst LEP's success so we’re looking for a board member who has the drive, passion and commitment to help our partners and our great executive team make that happen."

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.