Commercial litigator appointed as new chair of regional IoD

A commercial litigator at law firm Harrison Clark Rickerbys has been appointed as the new chair of the Hereford and Worcester branch of the Institute of Directors (IoD).

Joanne Hodgetts enjoys a high profile within the business community in the two counties, having been a founder member and subsequently the chairman of the Young Directors’ Forum as well as a volunteer member of the Young Enterprise regional committees.

She said: “I am looking forward tremendously to my role with the IoD; there is a great spirit of enterprise and entrepreneurship within Herefordshire and Worcestershire at all levels, and I believe that the IoD can foster and develop that to the benefit of the local economy across the area, so that established businesses thrive and new companies are given the support they need to flourish.”

Rod Thomas, Harrison Clark Rickerbys’ managing partner, said: “I am delighted for Jo – it is a great achievement and reflects her commitment to business development in the region.”

Calum Nisbet, regional director of the IoD in the West Midlands, added: “Jo has considerable professional credibility within the area and a great passion and enthusiasm for enterprise, which will help the organisation to extend its reach to younger businesspeople within the region. I look forward very much to working with her.”

Harrison Clark Rickerbys, which has a staff of 420 people, has offices in Hereford, Worcester, Cheltenham, the Wye Valley, Birmingham and the Thames Valley.