Local business leader Gary Jeffries has been elected as the new chairman of the Solent Local Enterprise Partnership at a meeting of the board on November 18.
Mr Jeffries is the Managing Director of Hughes Ellard, the south coast’s largest independent commercial real estate consultancy.
This private sector expertise in major developments and in handling the property interests of major corporations and industrialists will be invaluable to the LEP in its aspirations for creating growth and inward investment in the region.
Mr Jeffries follows Southampton Port Director Doug Morrison as only the second business leader to be appointed to this key role.
Following the appointment, Mr Jeffries said: “Doug has given the LEP the very best start in life and everyone in the region owes him a huge debt of gratitude for the quality of his leadership and vision. His are big shoes to fill but with the great team here and the huge natural strengths of the region and its dynamic people, I’m confident we can build further success on these foundations.”
Doug Morrison announced his intention to retire as Port Director of Southampton in September and will also be stepping down from his seat on the Solent LEP board at the end of the year.
Mr Morrison said: “I am hugely proud of the work we have done at the LEP. We are putting in place the support the regional economy needs to prosper long into the future. We can already see the benefits of the work we have been doing right across the region and that is only set to grow into the future.
“The team here has been fantastic and it is down to their efforts that the Solent is rightly being recognised as leading the way for LEPs in the UK. I know Gary will be able to rely on them to continue to deliver first class results throughout his term as chair.”
Mr Jeffries was elected to the Solent LEP Board by its founding member businesses in 2011 and, since this time, has been leading the Solent LEPs flagship initiative in developing the Solent Enterprise Zone at Daedalus; an ex-military airfield on the Gosport peninsular.
