AWM board members continue serving until LEPs take over

LEADING business figures serving on the board of regional development agency Advantage West Midlands have been cleared to continue serving on the body until its demise is complete.

The continuing terms of appointment have been outlined by Business Minister Mark Prisk.
 
The coalition Government is phasing out RDAs and is planning to replace them with a series of Local Enterprise Partnerships administered by an alliance of local authorities and businesses. Consultation for the approved structure is currently taking place.

Under the agreed terms, Angela Maxwell, Jas Bains, Sue Prince, Gerard Coyne and Diane Rayner will serve from December 14, 2010 until the RDA closes.

Mr Prisk said: “As we move toward a new framework for our regional economies, it is important that the development agencies are equipped with the leadership to ensure the transition period is a smooth one.  

“The skills and experience of these board members will be a valuable asset during this time and I hope they will continue to work with us to ensure an efficient evolutionary process.”

Sir Roy McNulty, AWM chairman, said: “It’s good that these board members have agreed to continue to serve.  Their support, acumen and advice will be greatly appreciated during this most challenging of times.”

He said the board’s chief priority now was to make sure the baton was not dropped as responsibility for economic development passed over to LEPs.

Once the coalition Government decided it was going to scrap the RDA, board member recruitment ended. The continuing terms announced by the Department for Business will ensure that AWM can continue to function and that the chairman can effectively manage the body until it is formally wound up. It also ensures that board membership does not fall below the minimum requirement of eight.

If the winding up procedure continues to plan then it is expected that the RDA will finally close in March 2012.

Biographies:

Jas Bains is CEO Ashram Housing Association. He was appointed to the AWM board in December 2007 and is the board champion for social enterprise. He also helped to develop the Wolverhampton India Trade Partnership.  

Gerard Coyne is the Trade Union representative on the board and he also has been regional secretary of the Transport and General Workers Union since May 2001.  He is currently chair of the Midlands TUC. A graduate of the University of Birmingham, he has worked for the TGWU for 18 years in research and industrial roles, representing 138,000 members across both the private and public sectors.

Angela Maxwell, left, is one of the region’s leading entrepreneurs and is commercial director of Birmingham-based coffee machine manufacturer Fracino. She is a former European adviser to UK Trade & Investment and a regional ambassador for the Women’s Enterprise Network.  She also heads Acuwomen, the UK’s first company to bring an all-women group of entrepreneurs under one roof.  She was awarded an OBE in 2010 for services to business in the West Midlands.

Sue Prince and her husband Terry run Beechenhill Farm, an organic dairy farm in Ilam, which provides bed and breakfast and award-winning self catering and wheelchair-accessible cottages. She is also project consultant to the Foods from the Peak District project, which includes a group of independent producers.  As a sustainability champion on the board, she works to encourage and support sustainable, collaborative and rural businesses. She is also an OBE – awarded for services to farming and tourism in the Midlands.

Diane Rayner is a former member of Worcestershire County Council and previously leader of Malvern Hills District Council.  Until retirement, she was policy development officer for the West Midlands for the Federation of Small Businesses.  She is a diversity champion on the board of AWM with particular interest in social enterprise, economic inclusion and the voluntary and community sectors.
 

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