Mayor enlists team of economic experts to propel region’s growth

South Yorkshire’s Mayor, Oliver Coppard has today – 29 January – unveiled the formation of his Mayoral Economic Advisory Council, which will help boost economic activity in the region and support his growth plan. 

The council, made up of 11 economic and business experts, is one of the Mayor’s initiatives to support South Yorkshire’s growing list of economic partnerships and development of projects for external investors.

It will provide leadership in thinking and insight as well as query how things are currently being done so South Yorkshire continues to grow.

In addition to Coppard, the council’s board will include:

·        Dame Kate Barker, chair of trustee board at the Universities Superannuation Scheme;  

·        Miatta Fahnbulleh, chief executive of the New Economics Foundation;  

·        Andrew Haldane, CEO of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA) and former chief economist for the Bank of England;  

·        Bruce Katz, co-founder and director of Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University;  

·        Professor Koen Lamberts, president and vice chancellor of University of Sheffield;  

·        Professor Liz Mossop, university leader and education policy adviser of Sheffield Hallam University;  

·        Sir Martin Donnelly, former senior executive for Boeing in the UK and Europe;  

·        Professor Margaret Stevens, academic economist and founding member and trustee of the CORE Project;  

·        Richard Stubbs, CEO of Yorkshire and Humber Academic Health Science Network;

·        Benjamin Wegg-Prosser, CEO of Global Counsel; and 

·        Dr Anna Valero, policy fellow and director of the Growth Programme at the London School of Economics.  

Coppard said: “In South Yorkshire we want to restore the pride, purpose and prosperity of our communities, but more than that we want to show the world what a 21st century post-industrial economy can look like.

“Our ambition is now matched by our expertise. Between them, the 11 members of the council will offer me advice and guidance that is at the very forefront of economic thinking, based on decades of experience and practical delivery.

“We’ve made huge progress over the last couple of years. We’re home to the world’s first Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District and now the UK’s first Investment Zone, as well as companies and people at the very forefront of materials science, propulsion, power, digital, and health-tech.

“But there’s still much more to do. Right now, our economy is too small, and not everybody has the opportunity to stay near and go far.

“I’m determined to tackle that challenge head on, and with the help of our new MEAC I have no doubt we will go further and faster than we ever have before.”

Haldane, one of the members of the new body, added: “Working with Oliver Coppard on the future of South Yorkshire’s business potential is an extremely exciting prospect.

“Working alongside the Mayor and combining his passion and knowledge of the region with the council’s decades of economic and business expertise presents an exciting prospect for inclusive and regenerative growth in South Yorkshire and prosperity for the future.”