New faces to champion Solent region on LEP board

THE SOLENT Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has announced the news that six new members are to join its 16-strong board, which pays a role in supporting the local economy to grow and tasked with driving the economic success of the Solent area through the business-led partnership.

Rachael Randall, Solent LEP Interim Chair, said: “I’d like to welcome all our new board members joining us to ensure Solent businesses reach their full potential and help our communities thrive. We’ve been a long-standing champion of diversity, and I am particularly pleased that we have an equal gender balance on our board to reflect the business community we represent.”

She further added: “Bringing new voices to the table, different perspectives and new ideas leads to effective business leadership, which has never been more important as we continue to champion the Solent’s economic prospects and support our communities to prosper in a fast-changing world.”

The new Solent LEP Board Directors are as follows below:

• Councillor Satvir Kaur, Leader of Southampton City Council
• Councillor Steve Pitt, Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure, and Economic Development at Portsmouth City Council
• Councillor Alex Rennie, Leader of Havant Borough Council
• Councillor Julie Jones-Evans, Cabinet Member for Levelling Up, Regeneration, Business Development and Tourism at Isle of Wight Council
• Brooke Hoskins, who leads Products & Training Services within Maritime Services at BAE Systems and Salli Shapcott, who lead’s Serco’s UK Maritime Business.

Alongside strategy development, the LEP is a major investor in the Solent economy and is delivering a growth programme valued at over £1.8 billion supported by an LEP investment of more than £270 million. It was the first LEP in the country to have a fully elected Board and has developed strong and collaborative relationships with partners in the public, private, education and community sector to bring forward investment and encourage innovation in the Solent region.

The Solent LEP board is made up of 16 directors from the public, private and higher education sectors. Solent LEP Business Director positions are undertaken on a voluntary basis. The new directors were confirmed following an open application process earlier in the year and released today (Monday, August 22).

Readers can read more information on the Solent LEP board and the roles by visiting: https://solentlep.org.uk/who-we-are/solentlep-board/biographies/