14/06/13

New Dorset LEP Board members announced

A trained counsellor, an advisor to the charity and voluntary sector, a banking and insurance expert and a housing specialist have all been appointed board members at the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership.

 

  • · Alison Moore is President of Dorchester Chamber of Commerce and a Business Training Advisor at Kingston Maurward College while operating her own counselling practice and acting as a Dorset Mentoring (Dormen) mentor.
  • · Alex Picot has been with Dorset Community Action since September 2012, following some 15 years working with Groundwork SW, where he was involved with training and skills, employment programmes, new business development and social enterprise.
  • · Richard Rowney, Managing Director, LV= Life and Pensions, has worked in a number of senior positions across financial services primarily banking and insurance.
  • · Jitinder Takhar, Group Business Development Director, Spectrum Housing Group, has been in the social housing sector for over 20 years.

The new members will be responsible for overseeing the work the Dorset Local Enterprise Partnership does in providing local vision and leadership for economic recovery and growth.

Gordon Page CBE, chair of Dorset LEP, former Chairman of Cobham plc and Pro-Chancellor at Cranfield University, said: “We are extremely impressed with the very high-calibre of business people wanting to play an active role in the Dorset LEP. We received twenty-two applications in all, which is very encouraging. I am confident that our four new board members will help to lead and guide the Dorset LEP towards fulfilling its vital role.”

The Dorset LEP was set up to invest in different industry sectors across the county to boost business, create new and more highly-skilled jobs and to ensure the county’s infrastructure is in a strong position to promote growth. It is driven by the private sector with local authority support.

Councillor Spencer Flower, in his new role as Leader of Dorset County, also joins the board. He has spent his working life in engineering, but since 2005 has devoted himself to Local Government.

Councillor Spencer Flower, Leader of Dorset County and East Dorset District Council, said:

“Economic growth is an important issue for the county and I look forward to representing local authorities on the board of Dorset LEP and working with colleagues from different sectors to build on the strong economy we already have here.”

Alison Moore said:

“I am thrilled to be joining the LEP as a board member and look forward to working with the other members to continue the great work the LEP has delivered to date. My particular interest is to ensure that young people can continue to live in Dorset once they finish their education, for example, ensuring that self-employment awareness is part of their education.”

Alex Picot said:

“I feel very honoured to be joining the LEP at an exciting time for all of us. As somebody who comes from a social enterprise and charity background, it is terrific that the Dorset LEP has fully embraced the value of this sector to Dorset’s economy, and I look forward to supporting the LEP in representing the sector, and creating a vision of real change for Dorset’s economy.”

Richard Rowney said:

“I am delighted to be taking up this exciting new role and ensuring that we continue to forge a strong partnership between the public and private sectors. We have much to be proud of across Dorset and the LEP provides a real opportunity to create further opportunities over the years to come.”

Jitinder Takhar, said:

“I am very happy to be joining a group of dynamic individuals who will help to grow the local economy in the coming years enabling Dorset to flourish.”

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