The boss of a Coventry-based IT training company has become the first female chair of a leading, national industry body.
Helen Brewster, the managing director of ATL Solutions, has just taken up the post of chair of the UK IT Association (UKITA) – an organisation committed to raising the standards of IT delivery to business customers in the UK.
Helen set-up ATL Solutions at the turn of the Millennium and was the first tenant at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Business Innovation Centre in Binley.
She has been an active member of UKITA for several years and has previously been praised for her commitment to increasing the organisation’s membership base and profile.
The new role will mean further promoting the body and speaking regularly to government to ensure issues within the industry are recognised and addressed.
Helen said: “This is a fantastic opportunity. I have worked in IT for more than 17 years and it’s not just a job or a business to me – it’s a passion.
“What often gets forgotten among the data cables, the hard drives and the broadband, is that people are the most important factor when it comes to IT.
“We have to make it work for us rather than the other way round and that is what those of us in the industry have to do for our clients and for each other.
“I am proud of this industry and I want to use my time as chair to continue to promote all that is good about IT and bust some of the myths while I am at it.
“I believe there is further scope for IT companies to collaborate more and I believe UKITA is a great way to make that happen as well as providing a platform to engage with opportunities that would not ordinarily be available.”
As well as running ATL, Helen has also recently joined ACUTEC in Coleshill as client experience director.
Penny Robb, centre manager at the University of Warwick Science Park’s Business Innovation Centre in Binley, paid tribute to Helen.
She said: “This is a fantastic achievement and we wish Helen well in her new role.
“ATL Solutions was the first tenant here and this has provided a successful base for the business – as well as many others over the past 12 years.
“On a day to day basis, we see just how committed Helen and her company are to driving up standards in the industry so she is ideally suited for this role.”