Register of Interest
Anne-Marie Mountifield's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Anne-Marie Mountifield has been the Chief Executive and Board Director at the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) for the last 7 years.
A member of the Institute of Directors, and the National Maritime UK Council she is also a 'Women in Maritime' ambassador.
Before taking up the role as Chief Executive at Solent LEP, Anne-Marie held senior executive leadership posts for more than 20 years in further education, the Civil Service (Department of Business Innovation and Skills) and local government.
An inspirational leader, Anne-Marie clearly conveys the vision for the Solent LEP and leads on the development of the strategy for the area and the roll out of the Solent £1bn Capital & Infrastructure programme.
Register of Interest
Becky's register of interest an be viewed here.
Biography
Becky joined the Solent LEP in 2019 after 3 years working with the Solent Growth Hub to assist SME’s in the region to access funding and support. Previous to this Becky has worked in Evaluation and monitoring, reconciliations within the financial services industry and has gained varied skills in customer service focused roles.
Becky moved to the area from Buckinghamshire to gain a BA hons in Photography from Solent University and has remained in the Solent area ever since.
Register of Interest
Chloe's Register of Interests can be viewed here
Biography
Chloe joined the Solent LEP in November 2018 coming from a background of working with education and employers. Chloe started her career undertaking an Apprenticeship in Business and has now worked within the careers and education sector for over 7 years.
Chloe will be using her knowledge and experience to engage with a number of schools and colleges across the Solent area to help build relationships between education and employers to support the skills gap and help prepare young people for the world of work.
Register of Interest
Chris Heath's Register of Interest can be found here
Biography
Chris joined Solent LEP in April 2017 as Programme Officer responsible for European Funding.
Prior to joining the Solent LEP, Chris had worked for a number of years in the Civil Service at the Land Registry. His more recent roles involved working at a local law firm in the Portsmouth area as well as international and local law firms in London. As an Office Manager for a law firm in London Chris took a lead role in business development. Chris's expertise lies in audits and compliance to ensure exacting legislative standards and scheme requirements, for example Law Society Quality Standards, Investors in People, are met whilst identifying areas and actions for improvement to improve business efficiency.
Chris has lived in the Solent area since 1989.
Chris took up the position of Local Growth Project Manager (Capital and Infrastructure) in October 2018
Biography
James is the nominated Value for Money Officer and lead for Risk Management at Portsmouth City Council in their role as accountable body to the Solent LEP.
Register of Interest
James Ford's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
James was appointed to the role of Business Engagement and Growth hub Manager at the Solent LEP in April 2018. Before joining the LEP James was Business development Manager at Southampton Football Club and was responsible for sourcing and activating new partnerships with both small and large employers. James`s Previous roles included Project Manager & Mobilisation Manager and Head of Apprenticeships and Employability, whereby James was responsible for the implementation of new contracts, Business engagement and operational delivery across numerous regions throughout England.
Prior to this James was a professional football player with AFC Bournemouth and Personal trainer, having set up and created his own business.
Register of Interest
Jayne Sime's Register of Interest can be found here
Biography
Jayne joined the Solent LEP in 2018 after 3 years working with the Solent Growth Hub to assist SME’s in the region to access funding and support. Previously, Jayne has held business development roles within both the publishing and recruitment industries.
Jayne holds a degree in English Literature and Philosophy from the University of Hertfordshire, and has gained valuable experience creating and running her own business.
Register of Interest
Josie's Register of Interest can be viewed here.
Biography
Josie joined the Solent LEP in July 2019 as an Office Administrator Apprentice. She has now completed her Level 3 in Business Administration with us and is now completing a Level 4 in Regulatory Compliance.
Prior to joining the LEP Team, Josie completed an NVQ in Health and Social care. This was an Apprenticeship within the Public Health sector of Portsmouth City Council where she worked as a Wellbeing Worker Apprentice. In addition Josie has experience working within the NHS as a Dietetic Assistant Practitioner and various other public facing roles.
Josie wanted to combine her skills around public engagement and administrative support to benefit the future of the region.
Register of Interest
Kate Cloud's Register of Interest can be found here
Biography
Kate joined the team as Local Growth Programme Manager: Capital and Infrastructure in September 2018. Since that time Kate has managed Local Growth Deal, Getting Building Fund and other small funding pots. Along with the Delivery team, Kate has developed a robust monitoring and reporting process to ensure beneficiaries and Board members alike understand how projects are progressing, and our role as funders.
Kate spent 16 years in local authority economic development teams supporting businesses directly as well as providing a voice for businesses within Councils.
Kate has a degree in Geography and Rural Planning from the University of Gloucestershire, and is a Member of the Institute of Economic Development. She has lived in Hampshire for much of her life and enjoys spending leisure time in the Solent region with her young family.
Register of Interest
Maz Garside's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Maz joined the Solent LEP in January 2019 as the Marketing Communications Officer with the key aim of strengthening and developing stakeholder relations. With over 20 years' experience in communications and stakeholder planning, Maz has worked in the social housing and higher education sectors. In her last role with Southampton City Council, she led on communications associated with air quality projects.
Maz has a Masters in Communication & Language and is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Relations.
Register of Interest
Nicki Craven's Register of Interest can be found here
Biography
Nicki joined the Solent LEP in October 2018 bringing 15 years of experience in the secondary education sector alongside industry knowledge and experience of running a small business.
Drawing on her background of enterprise, skills and work related learning, Nicki creates partnerships between educators and business to transform careers education across the Solent region, close the skills gap and promote local growth. She also works with the Growth Hub team to deliver business support and access to funding opportunities.
Nicki has a BA (Hons) in Leadership, Business and Management from the University of Portsmouth.
Register of Interest
Nicola Twiddy's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Nicola joined the Solent LEP in February 2013, as Personal Assistant to Anne-Marie Mountifield, Chief Executive of the Solent LEP. In 2015 Nicola became the Solent LEP's Office Manager and PA to Anne-Marie Mountifield.
Prior to joining the LEP team, Nicola held a number of roles in the Financial Service Industry, including supporting a team of Independent Financial Advisers and Regional Managers at The Royal Bank of Scotland for the previous 10 years. Nicola holds a degree in Business Studies.
Register of Interest
Paris' Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Paris joined the Solent LEP in January 2018 as a Programme Officer.
Before joining the LEP team, Paris lived in Kent and worked at Swale Borough Council within the Commissioning & Open Spaces Team as an apprentice and then moved on into the Housing team working primarily with homeless 16 & 17 year olds. Paris moved to Portsmouth and began working for BAE based in Portsmouth Naval Base within a contractor management department.
Paris holds a Level 3 Business Diploma and is currently completing a part-time BSc Hons degree whilst in full-time employment.
Register of Interest
Richard Jones' Register of Interest can be found here
Biography
Richard was appointed Deputy Chief Executive for the Solent LEP in April 2021, having joined the Solent LEP in 2011, with the board still in shadow form, to provide executive and communications support to the board in in the development of all major areas of work. He has since held a number of roles within the LEP including Head of Policy, Communications and Partner Engagement, and Assistant Director of Corporate Governance and Communications.
As Deputy Chief Executive, Richard leads the LEP’s operational delivery and is responsible for the overall investment programme, driving the development and transformation of the Solent LEP in its ambition to create a dynamic, vibrant, inclusive and internationally competitive region.
Richard holds two degrees; a BA in Media and Sociology from the University of London and an MA in Political Communications from Cardiff University. With the exception of time spent away at University, Richard has lived in the Solent region his entire life and is currently based in the Portsmouth area.
Register of Interest
Sara Denham's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Sara joined the Solent LEP in October 2018 having worked at the University of Portsmouth for 15 years as a widening participation practitioner and manager.
Drawing on her previous experience of Pre-16 outreach in both further and higher education, Sara will continue to work closely with schools, colleges and businesses to establish the Solent East Careers Hub.
Sara holds two degrees from the University of Portsmouth; a BA (Hons) in Business Studies and an MSc in Educational Leadership and Management. Sara has been a Portsmouth school governor since 2001 and represented the British Councils collaborative Governance project with the Russian Ministry of Education and Science at the 2006 Civil G8 for NGOs.
Register of Interest
Steve Futter's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Steve joined the Solent LEP in April 2013 to lead the development of key LEP funding programmes and set up a brand new Account Management function at the LEP. Since joining, Steve has been busy launching, managing and administering more funding programmes as the LEP continues to secure new contracts for delivery across the region.
Prior to joining the LEP, Steve had gained a wealth of experience of grant and programme management, and strategic and partnership development, in a range of charitable, public and private sector organisations. Most recently, he had spent six years at the Football Foundation developing and managing the Mayor of London's £7.5m investment into community sports venues as part of the Olympic Legacy programme. Steve lives in Southampton with his young family and, after six years commuting to London, is really happy to working back in the region.
Steve became the Head of Capital and Infrastructure in April 2018.
Register of Interest
Sophie Taylor's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Sophie joined the Solent LEP in 2018 after working with the Solent Growth Hub for the last 3 years as a business support navigator assisting businesses in the region with their growth plans.
Sophie started her career at the Hampshire Chamber of Commerce where she completed her Level 2 & 3 Apprenticeship in Business Administration.
Throughout Sophie’s career to date she has gained a diverse insight into business support, administration and marketing and is passionate about helping to drive the local economy forward through supporting local business growth.
Sophie was recognised in The Evening News Apprentice of the Year awards in 2014 for her commitment and academic achievements.
Register of Interest
Stuart Baker's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
After leaving University, Stuart worked for five years in commercial insurance underwriting for Axa and Aon. He then took a short career break, travelling to New Zealand, before returning back to the UK to teach Geography at Secondary and Sixth Form.
Stuart has worked in Local Government since 2005, first in Transport Planning, at both upper and lower-tier Authorities, before managing Solent Transport - a partnership of the Local Highway Authorities of the Solent area (south Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Portsmouth and Southampton). During this time he gained a MSc. in Transport Planning and Management.
Stuart has been working at the Solent LEP since 2013. He is Assistant Director of Strategy and Programme Development, leading the service area that is responsible for developing strategy and the evidence base that underpins it, as well as work to develop a pipeline of investable projects. It is an exciting and varied portfolio that reflects the priorities for the Solent economy, and includes: infrastructure, skills, innovation, and strategic sectors, which, for the Solent economy is dominated by the Maritime sector.
Following on from this, Stuart is the Assistant Director for Maritime UK Solent - an organisation that provides strategic leadership advice on the Solent Maritime cluster to ensure the sector is effectively promoted on a domestic and international basis, and continues to innovate and grow. Stuart chairs the Maritime UK Regional Cluster Council and is a strong advocate of the UK's Maritime regions and the role they collectively play in underpinning the UKs position as the great and the leading Maritime nation.
Register of Interests
Lauren's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Lauren joined Solent LEP as Corporate Governance and Compliance Manager in October 2019 and has over 16 years' experience of working in compliance and governance roles in the private sector. Previous roles have included the development and implementation of policy frameworks, forward-looking regulatory radars, holistic Risk Management and the management of outsourcing and due diligence.
Lauren's role assists in managing the LEP's statutory and constitutional framework, via management of the LEP's formal decision-making sub-panels and wider strategic advisory forums. She provides guidance and advice to panel and forum members, ensuring that all decisions are taken appropriately and support the transparency agenda for LEPs nationally.
Lauren lives on the Isle of Wight with a young family and is committed to the growth of the region.
Register of Interest
Lorna's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Lorna joined Solent LEP in a joint venture with Maritime UK in May 2020. This was after managing the support services at Eastleigh FE College for 6 years as the Head of Learner Journey.
Her responsibilities there included being the Careers Leader, and she is proud to have achieved the Quality in Careers standard in April 20 for the College.
Lorna is a qualified careers adviser, and also holds qualifications in Leadership and Management.
Her priorities are to support the work of Maritime UK Solent, the development of a robust and delivery driven network of maritime organisations, and supporting the institute of technology bid.
Nationally she is leading the careers campaign for Maritime UK.
Register of Interest
Alison's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Alison joined the Solent LEP in March 2021 to lead the marketing and communications service, and to develop and implement the Solent LEP stakeholder engagement strategy. Alison brings experience from both the private and public sector, most recently in local government communications with over 15 years at Hampshire County Council where she led on strategic communications campaigns across a range of issues.
Register of Interest
Nicky's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Nicky was appointed to the role of Senior Enterprise and Skills Executive in November 2020 prior to which she specialised in recruiting crew for the cruise industry.
Nicky also spent 8 years working with various training providers, supporting young people through apprenticeships and employability programmes. She has had various roles including an Apprenticeship assessor and an Apprenticeship and Employability manager where she managed a team of business development officers and a sales team to find apprenticeship placements and recruit candidates to fill the roles.
Prior to this Nicky was a Food and Beverage manager for both the Holiday Inn and Hilton brands and has had her own business in the hospitality industry.
Register of Interest
Hannah's Register of Interest can be found here.
Biography
Hannah joined the LEP in June 2021 in partnership with Havant Borough Council economic development team as Enterprise and Skills Executive for the Havant area supporting businesses and schools with skills and employability within the local area.
Prior to joining Solent LEP, Hannah worked in private education supporting business growth and access to community education. She also worked recruiting and training staff members to deliver education provisions.
Hannah is looking forward to supporting businesses and young people to connect through her knowledge of local schools and needs within the area.