NEW BOARD MEMBERS FOR SOUTH EAST ENGLAND
DEVELOPMENT AGENCY
24 November 2003
Three new appointments to the Board of the South East England Development
Agency (SEEDA) have just been announced by The Rt Hon Jacqui Smith MP,
Minister of State for Industry and the Regions.
The new Board Members - Phil Wood, Regional Secretary of the Southern
and South Eastern Region of UNISON, Rob Anderson, Leader of Slough Borough
Council and Peter Jones, Leader of East Sussex County Council - bring
a wealth of experience in local government, business and economic regeneration
to SEEDA. These skills will be a valuable addition to initiatives under
way to drive forward SEEDA's sustainable development agenda and
achieve the objectives outlined in the current Regional Economic Strategy
(RES) for the region that drives the UK's economy.
As with previous years, some current Board Members are stepping down.
Joining the Board on 14 December 2003, Mr Wood, Mr Anderson and Mr Jones
replace Ken Thornber CBE who stood down in August this year and Ken Bodfish
OBE and Barry Camfield who are due to stand down at the end of the year
after serving as SEEDA Board Members since the Agency was established
in 1999.
SEEDA's Chairman, James E Brathwaite CBE, commented: "We are
very pleased to announce that Phil, Rob and Peter will be joining our
Board next month. The departing Board Members and the other members of
the current management team have made tremendous progress in developing
the South East and promoting it as a truly world class economy. The experience
brought by the three new Board Members will enable them to make an immediate
impact on the development and implementation of many SEEDA initiatives
and I look forward to working with them.
"I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the hard
work and dedication of our three departing Board Members. My thanks go
to Ken Bodfish who has served so well as Vice Chairman, providing invaluable
input particularly on European issues. Barry Camfield has spearheaded
our work with unions, creating the Social Dialogue Forum, the first of
its kind in the UK. Ken Thornber has helped us enormously in developing
our links with County and Unitary Authorities. I will miss their wise
counsel and support."
SEEDA's Chief Executive, Anthony Dunnett, added: "We are delighted
to welcome Phil, Rob and Peter to the Board and look forward to pooling
their expertise and experience with the other members of the Agency's
senior team. We have ambitious plans for the development of the South
East and their advice and guidance will be invaluable. I would also like
personally to thank the departing Board Members for their outstanding
commitment and enthusiasm during their tenure and to wish them well for
the future."
Mr Dunnett, himself standing down in December, announced his intentions
to leave SEEDA in June this year after serving as the Agency's first
Chief Executive over the past five years. His successor, Pam Alexander,
formerly Chief Executive of English Heritage, was announced in October
and will take up her new role formally on 5 January 2004. Commenting on
the appointment of the new Board Members, she added: "I am pleased
to welcome our three new Board appointees. They bring impressive credentials
which will help the Agency achieve continuing success and I am looking
forward to working with them enormously."
Ministers introduced a rolling programme of appointments to the Regional
Development Agency Boards in 2001. The latest announcement is for 21 new
appointments to the Boards of seven of the English Regional Development
Agencies (RDAs).
Commenting on the new appointments, Jacqui Smith said: "Today's
appointments will provide new talent and fresh ideas for the Regional
Development Agencies. I want to particularly thank the outgoing Board
Members for their hard work and commitment to the RDAs in the crucial
early years.
"RDAs are tackling head-on the crucial issues which cause disparities
within and between regions - employment, innovation, skills and
infrastructure. Now with more resources than ever before the new Board
Members have a hugely important and exciting task ahead of them."
|
