Alice Morrison to leave Vision+Media

ALICE Morrison, the chief executive of Vision+Media, is to step down after eight years with the organisation which offers support to digital and creative industries in the North West.

Her decision follows the Government’s announcement on Monday that England’s nine screen agencies will be rolled into one body called Creative England.

Vision+Media will be merged with Screen Yorkshire and the North East’s Northern Film & Media to form a northern hub. It is not yet known where this will be based.

In a statement Miss Morrison, who is expected to leave next month, said: “It has been a brilliant eight years and there is more to come. The whole country is undergoing massive change and I am sure that the creative and digital sector of the Northwest is going to thrive and prosper.

“Vision+Media is a fantastic organisation and a founding member of Creative England. I’d like to thank the team, partners, funders and supporters for all the help they’ve given, and to all the talented people in our creative industries that we have supported.”

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Miss Morrison has spent the past few months coming to terms with the prospect of losing around half Vision+Media’s £6m annual budget when two of its biggest supporters – the North West Development Agency (NWDA) and the UK Film Council – fold in 2012. She was contemplating selling the agency’s services outside the North West and a four-day week has already been imposed.

Prior to joining Vision+Media in 2002 she launched Lancashire-based internet service provider Supanet.com. She previously spent eight years at the BBC in news and current affairs where she was involved in the launch of BBC News Arabic TV. She has also worked at Sky, Channel 4 and ITN.

Paul Taylor, director of business delivery, will take over at the helm of the organisation.