NatWest director Pat Doody has been appointed as the new chair of Greater Lincolnshire Local Enterprise Partnership - in what could be an interesting term when it comes to future devolution.
Having served on the board for the past five years, he replaces Ursula Lidbetter OBE, who stepped down in December 2019, serving as interim since then.
Mr Doody is director of business and commercial banking at NatWest in Lincoln.
It comes as the regional power debate rumbles on - with potential to slim down the number of LEPs and a merger with Humber also up for consideration.
South Humber Bank authorities North and North East Lincolnshire councils currently sit in both, and what had looked like a done deal on pan-estary devolution appears to have been derailed when the ‘red wall’ tumbled in the General Election. It cemented a strong Conservative position on Greater Lincolnshire unit as Labour MPs Nic Dakin (Scunthorpe) and Melanie Onn (Grimsby) departed, replaced by blue-rosetted Holly Mumby-Croft and Lia Nici.
Embarking on a three year term, MR Doody said: “It is with a mixture of excitement and trepidation that I follow Ursula Lidbetter in chairing the Greater Lincolnshire LEP.
“I feel pride too. Greater Lincolnshire is a place both I and the board have a great deal of faith in and ambition for, and I’m delighted to represent an area of the country that I am proud to call home after 30 years of working with SMEs and the public sector.
“The LEP has achieved much under Ursula’s leadership and great opportunities remain to grow our contribution as the Government seeks to level up 海角视频 growth and prosperity.
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“We invite further investment with a strong pipeline of projects which we believe will meet the strategic objectives of both Greater Lincolnshire and national government. The board, backed by a very capable chief executive and team and in close collaboration with our local government partners and MPs, continues to explore and develop plans to maximise these economic and social opportunities.”
Pat has worked in a number of roles at NatWest for 42 years and has been based in Lincolnshire since 1990.
He joined the LEP as chair of the European Structural Investment Fund committee and has also served on the investment board and the employment and skills board.
He is an advisory board member at the University of Lincoln’s International Business School, a former vice chair of the Lincoln College Group - where he was a governor for nine years - and a former chair of the steering group for Lincoln’s biannual digital arts festival Frequency.
The Greater Lincolnshire LEP has also appointed three new board directors in Yvonne Adam, managing director for Young’s Seafood’s frozen business; Alison Ballard, director of 海角视频 Typhoon support at BAE Systems Plc and Air Commodore Suraya Marshall of RAF College Cranwell.
Ruth Carver, chief executive of the Greater Lincolnshire LEP, described the recruitment process as A “comprehensive, transparent and national search” for the most suitable candidate.
“Pat was the strongest candidate and I’m confident that he will prove to be an outstanding chair,” she said.
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“He offers a wealth of knowledge of both the public and the private sector, he’s a safe pair of hands and he brings continuity after his five years on the board.
“His experience, sensitivity, passion and dedication to improving opportunities across Greater Lincolnshire and growing the local economy make him the ideal Chair to take the LEP forward into a new decade.”
Humber's appointment of a successor to Lord Haskins was put on hold after devolution plans returned to Westminster.