Global ambitions of Birmingham’s new inward investment campaign
A LONG-TERM effort to increase foreign investment in Birmingham got underway today, with Marketing Birmingham unveiling a new strategy and a new face to lead a campaign to make the city the most attractive business centre in Europe.
The public-private marketing agency took on the inward investment brief when it amalgamated Birmingham City Council’s Locate service earlier this year, and engaged an arm of IBM consulting to help it pull together plans to increase the city’s share of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).
Solihull-born Wouter Schuitemaker, currently Head of Asia Pacific at Think London, has been appointed to the new post of Marketing Birmingham’s investment director, and is charged with bringing new money to the city, creating 6,700 new jobs by 2015. The programme has been branded ‘Business Birmingham’.
Chief executive Neil Rami said the IBM-PLI research had clearly identified Birmingham’s strengths and weaknesses – and had pinpointed where the main opportunities were globally.
“We have a major opportunity to attract professional services firms to the city, following in the footsteps of Deutsche Bank,” he said. “We have the skills base and the office locations to provide significant shared services facilities to major players from around the world.”
Deutsche moved one of its back office operations to Brindleyplace in 2008, creating more than 200 jobs. Mr Rami said one of the first moves for Business Birmingham would be to create a Shared Services Forum in the city, to bring together service providers and others to help maximise opportunities to bring more business to the city.
The team would work closely with UK Trade & Investment, said Mr Rami, who also indicated there would be more focus on opportunities in the US, from where, he said, most of the past two decades’ FDI had come from.
As well as shared services, other target sectors will transport technologies, public sector functions and emerging opportunities such as digital media, low carbon R&D and medical technologies.
Mr Schuitemaker, in his role at Think London – the capital’s inward investment agency – attracted investment into the UK including projects with Canon, Nomura and Samsung Electronics. His international commercial experience includes business development roles at WPP and INTAGE Inc Japan.
A new website, www.businessbirmingham.com goes live today, and will be supported by advertising and editorial in national business and trade media and major transport hubs.
Mike Whitby, Leader of Birmingham City Council, said: “As a city we have a big task on our hands – to grow the private sector significantly and ensure Birmingham becomes the most attractive city in Europe in which to do business. We must do this at a time when public resources are under real pressure. It will require strategic and targeted activity and further collaboration with the city’s business community.”
Jerry Blackett, Chief Executive of Birmingham Chamber Group, said: “The business community is committed to addressing the real and serious need to promote private sector growth in Birmingham – this is where the Team Birmingham ethos comes into play. Birmingham Chamber Group will be a close partner with Neil and the new investment team. We have an international network in place alongside experience in FDI work which will be a valuable asset to the new strategy.”
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