BEC has begun the hunt for individuals to join its new advisory council which has been created to support its restructured board of directors during the next exciting phase of the organisation’s growth.
Created in 2019, BEC which was formerly known as Birmingham Enterprise Community, is a Birmingham-based not for profit social enterprise, set up to support entrepreneurs and businesses to grow. From idea and early stage business through to high growth and scale, the organisation has supported over 2,000 entrepreneurs from 20 different countries around the world in a range of industries and sectors. Over the last 18 months, the organisation has seen significant growth in key areas such as supporting businesses to enter international markets and a new range of sustainability skills programmes which have now supported over 400 business leaders to gain the skills they need to lead their businesses through the green revolution.
The organisation has recently appointed several new interim non-executive directors to help support BEC and its strategic direction as it begins to scale further. These appointments follow the recent departure of former board members Omran Al Habbal, Bart ‘BD’ Dalton and Alex Balderstone who helped to support the organisation through its early development through to where it is now as one of the UK’s fastest growing enterprise agencies. The new appointments to the board are:
- Dr Karim Kirollos – Associate Professor at Henley Business School & Former United Nations Economic Affairs Consultant.
- Matt Whelan – Commercial Associate at Trowers & Hamlins.
- Paul Evans – Serial Investor, Entrepreneur and Former VP EMEA at FedEx.
- Debbie Assinder – Director of Rodborough Consultancy, Founding Director Midlands Women in Tech Awards & West Midlands Enterprise Champion at Enterprise Nation.
- Dr Pam Waddell OBE – Founding Director of the Innovation Alliance for the West Midlands.
- Eman Al-Hillawi – Chief Executive Officer of Entec Si
These new non-executive directors bring with them a range of experiences in supporting the growth of a scaling business which will be essential into the next phase of BEC’s journey.
The interim board will be supported by the creation of the advisory council which will be formed of key stakeholders including entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, government and international representatives alongside area specific representatives in fields such as sustainability, skills, economic development and international trade. The council will be asked to discuss important issues facing businesses and provide on the ground insight as to how an organisation like BEC can better support businesses and fill gaps. It will also shape and guide BEC in its progress towards its social mission and objectives.
“I am extremely excited about the creation of this advisory council. We always feel that we keep in touch with what’s going on but this will take our insight to the next level, meaning that everything from our strategic through to day-to-day decision making will be informed by the reality of what it is like to start, build and grow a business today. As challenges arise, we’ll be ready to respond with word class support to tackle these issues”, said BEC Chief Executive Daniel Evans, “I’d like to thank Omran, Bart & Alex for their contribution to BEC over the last few years and also welcome in the new board who I know will help us to continue the pace of growth that we have achieved since starting out. We have big goals to reach and are on the way to getting to them!”
As well as directly approaching individuals to join the advisory council, BEC is keen to welcome individuals interested to put themselves forward by completing the expression of interest form below:
https://forms.monday.com/forms/embed/bfc7b0df70c464fc07a65e2a159cd8ea
