I joined ÍõÖÐÍõ¾«×¼ÁùФ as a governor in December 2020 and am the Link Governor on stakeholder engagement and careers. I also sit on the Search and Governance Committee and the Remuneration Committee.
I am the Chair of the Surrey Research Park (SRP) Board. SRP is the fourth largest research and science park in the UK, with over 130 innovative companies based on over 70 acres. The Park is part of the University of Surrey with crucial links to research, provision of work experience, and jobs. The provision of skills continues to be a top demand of companies in the Park.
I was the chief executive of Enterprise M3 Local Enterprise Partnership until the end of July 2022. At EM3, I worked with others to create the environment for businesses to grow and flourish across Hampshire and Surrey, securing over £250m to support innovation, skills, and infrastructure improvements.
I have a passion for joining up people and initiatives and was the lead CE for Catalyst South, an alliance of six LEPs that championed the importance of the business community across the South. I was also the cluster lead for the four growth hubs supporting businesses in Hants, Surrey, Berks, Solent, Sussex, and Brighton.
I have nearly forty years of experience working with businesses and people to support economic growth, first in helping the long-term unemployed get jobs, then in supporting young adults get training and assisting businesses to start up, scale up and grow.
I spearheaded the first skills strategy the South East England Development Agency produced and championed work to get girls in schools interested in IT careers. I'm passionate about achieving greater diversity on boards and in teams. I was honoured to see my work on economic development across the South of England recognised when I received an OBE in 2017.
I live in Oxfordshire, enjoy the local countryside, and unwind in my garden.