The North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) was launched by HRH The Prince of Wales in 1989, following a joint initiative of Business in the Community and the Confederation of British Industry. The NWBLT brings together leaders of national and international businesses with substantial commitments and interests in the North West of England. A unique regional entity, funded entirely by our members, we work to exert our collective influence for the long term good of the region, economically, environmentally, culturally and socially.
Latest News
NWBLT host National Productivity Leadership Group’s meeting at MediaCityUK
The North West Business Leadership Team today hosted the National Productivity Leadership Group (PLG) chaired by Sir Charlie Mayfield, Chair of the John Lewis Partnership. The PLG is soon to have its formal launch and in advance of this the North West was given a valuable opportunity to showcase some of the excellent work being undertaken in this region.
This roundtable discussion was held at The Landing which is the technology enterprise incubator for high-growth small companies based in the heart of MediaCityUK.
NWBLT Member Mike Hulme celebrates opening of Alstom’s new Widnes site with Charity Bike Ride
To help celebrate the opening of the new Alstom Site in Widnes later this month and to raise funds for a local charity, a group of 18 cyclists are cycling from Alstom’s design office in Wolverhampton through to Widnes on 11th June 2017. This represents 90 miles in one day, which is a tough challenge – they hope to raise £3000 for Halton Haven Hospice
NWBLT Chair wins Science Leadership Award
The UK’s top business leaders have been recognised for their outstanding contribution to science and innovation. Professor Adrian Hayday FRS, of the Francis Crick Institute and King’s College London, and Juergen Maier, CEO of Siemens UK and NWBLT’s Chair, were both awarded the prestigious Business of Science Leadership Award, presented ahead of the second Business of Science Conference 2017.
Judges commended the strong business leadership of the winners, praising their ‘incredible contribution as inspirational leaders’ and the work they have done to actively engage and promote science at the highest level.
Statement of Support for Manchester
Our thoughts today are with all those who have suffered loss and personal tragedy as a result of the horrific attack at the Manchester Arena last night. We are proud of the community spirit demonstrated in the aftermath by the leaders and people of the great City of Manchester. We pledge to stand together with you in the weeks and months ahead.
July Forum to feature Energy Roundtable
The next meeting of the Forum will take place on 11 July at 5pm for 5.30pm at Lancaster University. The meeting will be a roundtable discussing how Energy technology can power our ambitions for the North . It will include contributions from Harry Hoster, Director of Energy Lancaster, and Dion Williams, Director of Enterprise and Innovation at Lancaster University. This follows on from the May Forum which featured a presentation from Katy Gearing from the Royal Society.
North West and London business chiefs unite to demand greater devolution
Business chiefs have called for greater devolution to UK cities and regions as the next government focuses on Brexit negotiations.
In a joint letter to the political parties, the North West Business Leadership Team, representing national and international businesses with substantial commitments in the North West, London First, whose members include over 200 of the capital’s leading companies, and Centre for Cities, an independent think tank dedicated to improving UK city economies, have argued that greater control over the revenues generated by locally raised taxes – such as property and council taxes – would give local institutions greater incentive to drive investment and growth, and the means to fund it.
Alstom Transport support Webster Primary School to inspire and develop their My Planet project.
The Lever Prize 2017 Winner – Z Arts – organised Manchester primary school children to visit the Alstom Transport Traincare Centre in Longsight after buddying up with the business to look at the workplace and introduce them to the amazing technology. A group of 30 children from Webster Primary School, who are taking part in the NWBLT Lever prize funded project My Planet, visited the Alstom Depot in Manchester to learn all about the services that the NWBLT member provides to the train industry in the North West.
The trip helped the children learn all about the benefits of train travel and what Alstom do within their Manchester depot including the full size train scanner, the fully computerised train parts store, how a train is fully refurbished and many other amazing train facts.
Harness industrial strategy for the North West Region
The North West Business Leadership Team has today called on the Greater Manchester Mayoral candidates to shape the national industrial strategy so that it fully embraces digital and the new technologies emerging across the region. It has hosted a series of meetings with mayoral candidates and policy makers in March and April to press the case for making the most of devolution and the new city mayoralties. Canvassing views from its membership, the NWBLT industrial strategy priorities for Greater Manchester include:
• boosting local skills – especially tech and digital skills – so that young people leaving full time education are prepared to embrace new technologies that are transforming the world of work.
• A coherent strategy for the technologies that are likely to take off in Greater Manchester – including advanced materials, AI, big data and digital design.
• A coherent businesses and investment strategy that encourages inward investment and exports, with a clear 100 day plan in place from May 6th.
• Robust infrastructure across the region, quickening the road and rail investments required to create strong growth across Greater Manchester and beyond.
UK Industrial Strategy has to be low carbon and resource efficient, say leading business voices
In a new collection of essays, published by Green Alliance today, eight leading business and policy voices, including the NWBLT’s Chair and the Director General of the CBI, say the government must embed low carbon development and resource efficiency in a truly modern industrial strategy; and that failure to do so risks wasting the opportunities the UK has to capitalise on the green economy.
The strong message from the publication’s contributors is that the government’s plan to boost business productivity, particularly in former industrial communities, must be aligned with UK low carbon energy and resource policies.
May Forum to visit Virtual Reality Lab
The next meeting of the NWBLT’s Forum is taking place on Monday 15th May in the Atrium at Daresbury Laboratory, Warrington. The event commences at 4pm with an optional tour of the Virtual Engineering Centre which will include a visit to one of the VEC’s virtual laboratories. The Virtual Reality laboratory is where industry comes to co-innovate and develop new products and processes using a range of virtual engineering tools such as Virtual Reality. The VEC will demonstrate how Bentley Motors have used such technologies to successfully develop new products more quickly and cost effectively. There will also be a demonstration of how VR is being used in the medical sector.
The main meeting at 5pm for 5.30pm will open with a presentation from Katy Gearing from the Royal Society who are engaging with the wider science community across the North West. There will then be a panel discussion with Q&A from the audience.
