Eight business leaders have been appointed to the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership’s board to help drive its growth ambitions.
Five new representatives join three reappointed members on the newly formed LEP board, which meets for the first time on June 17. 
LEP board members are drawn from sectors vital to the region’s economy including aerospace, shipping, housing, construction, the creative industries and small business.
The five new representatives are:
* Simon Bird, pictured top right, chief executive of The Bristol Port Company, which employs around 550 people and provides work for a further 9,500 people across the area
* Nick Horne, pictured second top right, chief executive of Weston-super-Mare based Knightstone Housing Group, one of the largest providers of new 
and affordable homes in the West of England. A leading voice for the sector in the West of England, Nick recently chaired Bristol City Council’s Mayoral homes commission, which studies ways to increase the supply of new and affordable housing in the city.
* Esther McMorris, pictured third right, chief executive of Bath-based management consultancy Nine Feet Tall. Since founding the company in 2004, Esther has worked with local and national government bodies and blue-chip clients including John Lewis, Nationwide and the CBI.
* John Pritchard, pictured fourth right, European chief executive of GKN Aerospace’s Aerostructures division, which employs more than 1,700 engineers and assembly staff at its Filton base. 
* Neil Way, pictured bottom right, managing director of family-run Jeff Way Electrical Services, which has grown by around 800% in the past seven years. The Knowle-based company is working on some of the region’s biggest housing and regeneration schemes including Bath Riverside and Wapping Wharf on Bristol’s Harbourside.
The three re-appointments are Bristol Airport chief executive Robert Sinclair, visiting professor, Bristol Business and Law School Kalpna Woolf, and James Durie, executive director of Bristol Chamber and Initiative at Business West. 
Wessex Water chairman Colin Skellett has been reappointed as chairman of the board to build on the progress made by the LEP since it was set up by the Government in 2011 while Joe McGeehan will take on the role of special advisor on technology.
The business representatives on the board will work alongside the leaders of three of West of England’s local authorities and Bristol’s elected mayor to attract investment, support infrastructure development and put conditions in place to enable businesses to move to the area and expand.
Mr Skellett said: “These appointments demonstrate the level of ambition and vision for the future of the West of England as 
the home of knowledge, innovation and quality of life.
“The business representatives lead successful organisations, who work across all parts of the West of England in sectors that are vitally important components of our plans for sustainable economic growth.
“Their experience in aerospace, logistics, housing, infrastructure and small and medium enterprise gives businesses in the West of England real and powerful influence in the future direction of our economy. I welcome their representation on the board and look forward to working with them on the next phase of our plans for growth.”
Last year, the LEP secured commitments to invest around £230m from Government Growth Deals to fund key projects in transport, infrastructure and business support and create thousands of jobs.
