New broom offers sweeping changes at Professional Liverpool

THE new chief executive of Professional Liverpool has pledged to reinvigorate parts of the organisation which had suffered from a drop in activity over the past 12 months.

John Hall, the former Bermans managing partner who was appointed as chief executive two weeks ago, admitted that the organisation “went through a lean period” since losing its £200,000 of annual funding from the NWDA last July – around 70% of its total income – and subsequently placing former chief executive Mark Chadwick on gardening leave.

It also faced temporary funding problems which led to the organisation approaching some of its larger members for loans.

However, Hall said the fact that members were so forthcoming was a sign of the value that they placed in the 10 year-old group, and he is planning to ramp up activity both through lobbying efforts, working with partner organisations, and by
increasing its own activities.

“It’s just about doing the job properly and doing what the members want,” he said.

For instance, he argues that although the corporate finance group within Professional Liverpool has remained active, the organisation needs to do more in terms of both networking events and other activities on behalf of members in its property and wealth management groups.

“I think I’m pushing at an open door with that,” he said.

Hall admits that with agency funding now gone, Professional Liverpool will “live or die” on its ability to boost membership fees, and it has set a goal of increasing the number of member organisations from 70 to more than 100.

One way in which it can achieve this, he argues, is by broadening its membership base by enticing firms that aren’t professional services organisations per se, but which employ a lot of them. He cites property firm Bruntwood as an example.

Of course, it faces greater competition for members’ fees following former chief executive Mark Chadwick’s decision to set up rival not-for-profit organisation Liverpool City-Region: Business and Professionals last month.

Hall said that “Liverpool does not need two bodies”, but added that Professional Liverpool needed to prove to its members that it can deliver what they have asked of it.

Hall, who is contracted to work for the organisation for three days a week, said that its previous reliance on public sector funds had made the organisation “too elitist” and too concerned with strategy at the expense of the interest of its smaller members, who enjoy and value the members’ networking events.

He believes that this strategic role can be maintained and even enhanced by co-operating with existing influential bodies such as Liverpool Chamber of Commerce, Liverpool Vision and with the University of Liverpool. Memorandums of understanding have recently been signed with all of these organisations.

“We will absolutely be retaining our our independence but we’ll be working in collaboration,” said Hall. “We’ll share ideas and views about the city’s economy.”

Such collaboration cut out some of the unnecessary waste that takes place at the moment where each organisation organises their own events around similar themes.

For instance, he said Professional Liverpool recently held an “access to finance” event which attracted around 150 people.

“But in the same month, the Chamber hosted a similar event and someone else did one as well.”

He said that the appointment of former Liverpool Vision chief executive Jim Gill as the organisation’s interim chair and the university’s pro-chancellor Prof Jim Keaton as vice-chair should also help to strengthen links, despite the fact that
it Professional Liverpool will leave the university’s facilities to set up in the commercial district within the next few weeks.

“It’s ridiculous for us not to be in the commercial centre,” he said. “The university is totally behind that – they’ve been really supportive.”