LEP chair to step down after six years

The chair of the Coventry and Warwickshire Local Enterprise Partnership (CWLEP) is to stand down when his current term of office ends this spring.

Jonathan Browning, who joined the organisation in 2014, will be handing over the reins in April.

He will also be leave his roles as chair of the CWLEP Programme Delivery Board, being a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) Board and chair of the WMCA’s Strategic Economic Development Board.

Browning joined the CWLEP after three years as president and CEO of Volkswagen Group of America. His career has spanned the breadth of the industry across multiple countries and regions, working in locations ranging from Turkey to Switzerland and from Germany to the USA, as well as numerous parts of the UK.

He said: “When I returned to Warwickshire and joined the CWLEP in 2014, my impression was that the area had many strengths but there wasn’t a joined-up approach and that was holding us back from realising our potential.

“That is no longer the case as there is much greater collaboration between the private and public sector which has led to tangible success which is moving Coventry and Warwickshire’s economy forward.

“A perfect example is the partnership working between the CWLEP, Coventry City Council and WMG at the University of Warwick which led to the area winning a competition to build the UK Battery Industrialisation Centre which will open near Coventry next spring.

“The CWLEP has also made great strides over the last six years as we have been identified as one of the top three LEPs in the country and we have now attracted more than £330 million of funding to Coventry and Warwickshire.

“I would like to thank the CWLEP’s executive team, the voluntary hard work of our board of directors and business groups and the support of our partners in local authorities, business organisations and companies across the area over the last six years.”

The LEP will now begin to look for Browning’s replacement.