The West of England’s Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) has boosted its membership with 12 new members from the business community.

The appointments were made at a meeting of the LEP on Wednesday January 24.

The LEP is a partnership bringing representatives from business and universities together with elected leaders to shape and develop the future of the region.

Chair of the LEP, and Vice-Chancellor of the University of the West of England, Professor Steve West, said:

“This a really exciting time for the West of England - devolution is bringing more decision-making and more money to our region, and this means that the LEP’s role as an advisory body is becoming even more important.

“It’s great that our board now has 12 members from the business community - previously there were five. Our role is to represent the interests of business and universities, advising the West of England Combined Authority and the West of England Joint Committee on business interests and how we can work together to drive economic growth for all. We are all committed to securing the region’s continuing economic success and attractiveness for residents, businesses and communities.”

Patricia Greer, chief executive of the West of England Combined Authority and Local Enterprise Partnership, said:

“We have a very impressive new board, full of energy and ideas, with the credibility to champion the West of England at regional, national and international level. I look forward to working with them as they help us drive forward our ambitions for the region, challenging and advising us as we work together to boost productivity.”

The 12 new members are:

• Christopher Grier, Airbus
• Neil Douglas, Viper Innovations
• Dick Penny, Watershed
• David Brown, The Bristol Port Company
• Jon Reynolds, BT
• Andrew Hodgson, KPMG
• David Pester, TLT Solicitors
• Katharine Finn, PwC
• Martino Burgess, Gregg Latchams
• Mohammed Saddiq, Wessex Water
• Professor Hugh Brady, University of Bristol
• James Durie, Bristol Chamber & West of England Initiative

The other members of the LEP board are: regional Mayor, Tim Bowles, the leaders and Mayor from four councils in the region – Bath & North East Somerset (Leader, Cllr Tim Warren), Bristol City Council (Mayor Marvin Rees), North Somerset Council (Leader, Cllr Nigel Ashton) and South Gloucestershire Council (Leader, Cllr Matthew Riddle). The LEP board will be supported by a strong wider business reference group and sector groups that will engage with business communities across the region.