West of England Mayor announces new Business Board

A new Business Board which will drive growth, support key sectors, and help secure investment in the West of England has been announced. The Mayor has appointed two Business Advisors as interim chairs for its first year.

Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England, has reiterated that working in partnership with businesses across the West remains a top priority.

Jo Dally and Nick Sturge have been appointed to serve as the Mayor’s Business Advisors. Jo is the Chief Business Officer at NCC, where last week Isambard-AI, the UK’s biggest supercomputer, was switched on. Nick was the co-founder of Engine Shed, which has incubated many start-up businesses and worked with them to secure major investment.

The Business Board will represent the full breadth of the West’s diverse economy. It will become the primary platform for businesses to engage with the regional authority’s strategic priorities – including the Growth Strategy set to be launched in September. All council leaders, including North Somerset, will be part of the Business Board. Other board members will be appointed in due course.

Image - Mayor Business Board

Helen Godwin, the new Mayor of the West of England, said: "Businesses across the West are driving the innovation which gives our region the strongest recent economic growth of any combined authority area in the country. But we know that there is more to do. We need to celebrate our success so far, attract further investment, and ensure that everybody here has their chance to get on.

“I know that Jo and Nick share that ambitious goal, which will be restated in our ten-year Growth Strategy in September. Working with our new board as it comes together, they bring decades of business experience to the table to inform and enhance our work with businesses across the region.

“Our Youth Guarantee has recently launched to support more young people into work and training. We want to get our region moving after securing unprecedented new investment in transport: for better buses, more trains, and mass transit. And our part of the world has several of the country’s most exciting regeneration opportunities, in Bath Quays, Bristol Temple Quarter, and Brabazon. It’s imperative that people across the West feel part of those big projects, and that we support all sectors – including those at the core of our region, like logistics and hospitality – to thrive.”

Jo Dally, the Mayor’s Business Advisor, said: “I passionately believe the West of England can trailblaze in demonstrating how places can drive inclusive growth and industrial transformation, both regionally and nationally. This makes the opportunity to work with Helen, the WECA team and partners across the region to realise its full potential an absolute privilege. I’m excited to get started, and to work alongside Nick to champion our businesses today and to create the conditions that will see those of tomorrow thrive.”

Jo Dally is the Chief Business Officer at NCC. In this role she leads strategy development and implementation alongside the business’s corporate affairs functions and its portfolio of strategic industrial partnerships. Before joining NCC, Jo held senior leadership roles across the public and private sector, all with innovation and partnership working at their core. This included as Director of the Western Gateway (a pan-regional economic partnership), at the Royal Society (the UK’s National Science Academy), and as a Senior Civil Servant with responsibility for Horizon Scanning and Emerging Technologies.

Nick Sturge, the Mayor’s Business Advisor, said: “I am delighted and honoured to have been asked to help Helen and the team at WECA deliver significant, fast and positive change. The West of England, with its richness of diversity in sectors and population, has many challenges and opportunities but by working together I believe we can make this region thrive and fulfil its potential with renewed vigour. 

“Enabling and facilitating the voice, interests and collective capability of the business, voluntary and education communities to support Helen’s mission will be exciting and I look forward to working with Jo to do this.”

Nick Sturge MBE has a portfolio of non-exec, advisory, and voluntary roles in the tech sector, public sector and education, including at techSPARK, CFMS, Bristol Women in Business Charter, Boomsatsuma, Bath Spa University and Cardiff University, and previously developed the innovation brief for Cheltenham’s Golden Valley Development. Prior to that he co-founded and floated Motion Media plc, grew the Bristol SETsquared Centre to become part of the top global university-backed business incubator, and co-founded Engine Shed to house SETsquared and drive sustainable and inclusive economic growth in the West of England. Nick achieved Chartered Director status with the Institute of Directors and has a track record of working at the intersect of academia, business, and government.

This news follows the national announcement which sees Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) rolled into Mayoral Combined Authorities, with business boards already in place in other regions. At Friday’s joint meeting with council leaders, Helen thanked the LEP and Richard Bonner, its chair, for all of their work over the years.