Marketing Cheshire, the newly-formed investment and tourism body, has strengthened its Board with the appointment of four key figures from the private, public and higher education sectors.

The organisation is responsible for place marketing and promotion, as well as traditional visitor economy support. The new Board members, who bring a wealth of experience and knowledge, are:

• Dennis Dunn, Pro Vice Chancellor responsible for all international affairs at the Manchester Metropolitan University and Dean of MMU Cheshire, where he has overseen a £70m transformation of the University’s Crewe campus

• Roger Gorham, a Director of Bride Hall Holdings, responsible for the asset management of its investment portfolio, including the Grosvenor shopping centre in Chester

• Councillor Jamie Macrae, Cabinet Member and Portfolio Holder for Prosperity at Cheshire East Council, and a chartered architect with a lengthy track record in both construction and industry

• Councillor Stuart Parker, Portfolio Holder and Executive Member for Culture and Recreation on Cheshire West & Chester Council, and a businessman with 25 years’ experience in the environmental sector

The appointment of the new board members has been welcomed by Edward Pysden, chairman of Marketing Cheshire. He said: “These appointments to the Board will make the organisation even stronger; each has a wealth of experience and knowledge that we can draw upon.

“We believe we are well placed to help drive investment and to continue to make great strides in attracting more business and people to Cheshire and Warrington.  This is clearly reflected in the skills, experience and well-balanced make-up of the Marketing Cheshire board we have put together.”

Roger Gorham said: “I am delighted to have been asked to join the board of Marketing Cheshire and I am looking forward to playing my part, along with my fellow Board members, in the continuing development of the organisation and its strategy and work supporting investment and the visitor economy.

“These are challenging but exciting times for Cheshire and Warrington and Marketing Cheshire has a key role to play in ensuring the future prosperity of the sub-region and its communities.”

They were also welcomed by Christine Gaskell, chair of the new Cheshire and Warrington Enterprise Partnership.  She attended their inaugural Marketing Cheshire Board meeting, which was held at Bentley Motors in Crewe.

Christine Gaskell briefed the Board on the LEP’s priorities and confirmed its desire to work with Marketing Cheshire to drive these forward. She said: “We have a clear set of objectives and strategy going forward and Marketing Cheshire will play a key role in achieving these.”

Chris Brown, Chief Executive of Marketing Cheshire, added: "We have all the right ingredients in Cheshire and Warrington to drive economic growth; the aim is to get that message across loudly and clearly to potential investors all over the world.

“Our Board will play a central role in making this happen and we are delighted to have new members, who bring a range of experiences and skills gained from across the private, public and education sectors.

 “These are important times for Cheshire and Warrington and the Board members are all highly-motivated and determined to play their part in shaping the future success of the sub-region.”

Marketing Cheshire is already playing a key role in driving investment and interest in the sub-region as well as further growing the visitor economy.

It is leading on the important ‘Celebrate Cheshire’ initiative – a large-scale, two-day ‘business expo’ event at Chester Racecourse in September – which will see the sub-region taking an unprecedented step in promoting the area nationally to potential investors.

Marketing Cheshire has also helped deliver £1.2million of investment to support the growth of tourism businesses across rural Cheshire and Warrington through the Rural Development Programme for England.

Marketing Cheshire is the organisation’s overall corporate brand, while Visit Chester and Visit Cheshire will be retained as consumer-facing brands. Two new brands – Invest in Cheshire and Live in Cheshire – are also being launched with a website being created to go live in the autumn.

Overall, the Cheshire and Warrington sub-region has the strongest economy – worth more than £22bn – in the North West of England and the strongest nationally outside London and the South East.

Issued on behalf of Marketing Cheshire
For further information, please contact:
Rebecca Wainwright
r.wainwright@marketingcheshire.co.uk
Marketing Cheshire
Tel: 01244 405617