Brady gets CBE as local business figures recognised in New Year’s Honours

BUSINESS figures from the West Midlands have been recognised in the New Year’s Honours.

Dorridge-based Karren Brady retains a high profile association with Birmingham from her time as managing director of Birmingham City FC. Better known these days as sidekick to Lord Sugar on The Apprentice she has been awarded a CBE for services to entrepreneurship and for promoting women in business.

Receiving the same honour is Nicholas Winser, executive director at Midlands-based utility National Grid. He is recognised for his service to the UK energy industry.

Well known business support figure Rachel Eade, who currently works as the Automotive Sector lead for the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS), has been awarded the MBE for her services to the car industry.

Ms Eade played an instrumental role in ensuring component firms came through two MG Rover crises, the closure of Agco and Peugeot’s Ryton factories and, more recently, issues around Coventry-based London Taxi Company.

It is estimated that in her 18-year career, she has helped safeguard around 10,000 jobs in the key automotive supply chain and create in excess of 5,000 new positions with expanding manufacturers.

“This news came completely out of the blue and I’m extremely proud to have played a small part in ensuring the automotive supply chain has been able to adapt and become globally competitive again,” she said.

“It is a fantastic honour as I’ve been nominated by industry and other business support partners and it recognises what is a real team effort. The other thing it does is put the automotive sector in the spotlight and highlights its growing importance to the UK economy.”

Ms Eade started working in the Black Country in 1995 before moving to supply chain initiative Accelerate, where she administered more than £100m of European funding to West Midlands firms.

She then joined MAS in 2010, fulfilling a regional role first before being appointed as the National Automotive Lead earlier this year.

In this position, she has responsibility for developing the supply chain’s capacity and harnessing links with the Automotive Council, BIS, the SMMT and the major car manufacturers.

Elsewhere, Professor Paul Cannon, lately director of the Poynting Institute, QinetiQ and the University of Birmingham has been awarded an OBE is recognition of his services to engineering.

In the same field, Dr Hamid Mughal, director of global manufacturing at Rolls-Royce is recognised with the same honour for his services to technology, innovation and manufacturing.

Coventry City Council leader Ann Lucas receives the same honour for services to local government, while Maxine Penlington, lately COO at Birmingham City University also receives the OBE for services to higher education.

Christopher Train, of Solihull, chair of the Energy Emergencies Executive Committee, is another OBE recipient for his services to the gas and electricity industries.

Two more unusual OBEs go to Lynette Hirst, head of enforcement and specialist offices, debt management and banking at the HMRC in Birmingham, who is recognised for her services to taxpayers, and Anthony Stewart, of the specialist investigations technical team at HMRC in Solihull for services to tackling tax non-compliance.

Vanessa Whitburn, lately editor of Mailbox-produced The Archers also receives an OBE for services to radio drama.

Elsewhere, Brian Miles, board member of the All Saints Community Development Company in Birmingham receives an MBE for services to young people.

Professor Christine Robertson, head of the Institute of Education at the University of Worcester receives an MBE for services to higher education, as does the university’s Pro Vice Chancellor of Students, John Ryan.

Estelle Rowe, national director of the Headstart programme, Engineering Development Trust in Birmingham also receives the MBE.