Top business names appointed to Northern Powerhouse body

FOUR Yorkshire business heavyweights have been appointed to the advisory board of the Northern Powerhouse body to provide consultancy advice to support growth in the Northern economy.

Freeserve founder Ajaz Ahmed, Sheffield City Council chief executive John Mothersole and Leeds City Region chairman Roger Marsh will all join the board, which will be chaired by Sheffield’s Lord Kerslake.

The group will support UK Northern Powerhouse in matters including reviewing and monitoring government responses to the recommendations the body has made that will in its view make the project a success.

They will also help set the agenda for the 2017 UK Northern Powerhouse International Conference & Exhibition, which will take place on February 21 and 22 next year at Manchester Central.

John Mothersole, chief executive of Sheffield City Council and Lord Kerslake

The four Yorkshire business leaders will be joined on the advisory board by more than eight other leaders from the field of business and local government from the region and beyond including Alexandra Jones, chief executive for Centre for Cities, Paul Marsh head of development and finance at Capital Investment Group, Department for International Trade and Sarah Green, director of regions for the CBI.

Martin Venning, director of UK Northern Powerhouse Conference and Exhibition, said: “This transformation of opportunity in the North cannot be reached by Government funding alone. We need business, policy-makers and other key stakeholders to come together and play their part in building a stronger, more productive and stable Northern economy. Our advisory board has been carefully selected to help us achieve just that.”