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Birmingham Post
The Greater Birmingham & Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership has appointed its third female board member - two years on from unveiling its original, all-male board.
Professor Dame Julia King, vice-chancellor of Aston University, has been made a director of the business group and will be the representative of the higher education sector, acting as a conduit between them and the board.
Meanwhile, the board has agreed for Steve Hollis – former Midlands Chairman of KPMG – to continue as deputy chair for a further 12 months. In recent months he has been paying a key role in the Greater Birmingham Project – sweeping changes to give regions greater funding powers, unveiled by Lord Heseltine.
Dame Julia replaces Professor David Eastwood, vice-chancellor of the University of Birmingham, who completes his two-year tenure as director on May 1 2013. She joins Dame Christine Braddock of Birmingham Metropolitan College and Tracy Westall of technology board SCC on the 18-strong board.
Dame Julia became vice-chancellor at the university in December 2006 having previously been principal of the engineering faculty at Imperial College, London. She previously held a variety of senior positions at Rolls-Royce plc having spent the previous 16 years as an academic researcher and university lecturer at Cambridge and Nottingham universities.
Chair Andy Street, said: “We are very fortunate to have somebody of Julia’s experience, vision and expertise in higher education to replace Professor Eastwood and continue the excellent work he started. Julia’s achievements in business and academia and her experience in working with different levels of government are almost too extensive to list.
“Her vision and understanding of the higher education sector will, I am sure, prove hugely valuable as we continue the delivery of the Strategy for Growth.
“Furthermore, Steve continuing as deputy chair provides us with further continuity which will be vital given that he has been responsible for leading on our work to produce both the Strategy for Growth and the Greater Birmingham Project.”
Dame Julia is also a non-executive member of the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills and a member of the Committee on Climate Change as well as a member of the World Economic Forum Automotive Council.
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