South East England Development Agency (SEEDA)

Four new appointments to the Board of the South East England Develolpment Agency (SEEDA) have been announced by Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt.

The new Members - James Brathwaite CBE, Robert Douglas, Ken Thornber CBE and Elizabeth Brighouse - bring a wealth of business, public and voluntary sector experience to the SEEDA Board. This will help SEEDA drive forward its agenda for sustainable economic growth through enterprise, innovation, skills development and regeneration. (See Appendix One for biographies.)

Chairman of SEEDA, Allan Willett CMG DL, said: "We are delighted to welcome the new Members to the Board. Their breadth of experience complements that of our existing Board Members, leaving SEEDA well-placed to fulfil its role in providing strategic economic development leadership at the regional level."

In welcoming the new Members, Allan Willett also commended the contribution of the outgoing Board Members in getting SEEDA off to such a strong start in its early years.

Patricia Hewitt MP added: "The new Board make-up means a broad range of current business experience is being brought to the boardroom table, which, together with the expertise and background of other members, will add further value to the SEEDA Board."

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APPENDIX ONE

THOMAS KEN THORNBER CBE
Ken Thornber is Conservative Leader of Hampshire County Council. He is also Vice Chair of the County Councils Network and a member of the Executive Committee of the South East England Regional Assembly and a member of the Local Government Association Transport Executive.
Past employment includes senior executive positions with Philips Electronics Group, and Unilever, followed by a spell as a management consultant to industry, commerce, local government and latterly, the National Health Service. Other posts held include Vice Chair of Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police Authority and Chair of Hampshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust.
Mr Thornber was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's New Year's Honours List 1995. He holds no other Ministerial appointments.

ROBERT DOUGLAS
Rob Douglas is a Business Consultant specialising in strategy and senior executive development. In 2000 he was appointed by the Secretary of State as Chair of the Surrey Learning & Skills Council.
Until the end of 1999, he worked for the Royal Dutch/Shell Group where he held a number of senior finance and general management positions including Chief Executive of two major European subsidiaries (Belgium and Italy). His final post was Vice-President, Mergers and Acquisitions for the Global Exploration and Production Business based in The Hague. Before joining Shell in 1980, Mr Douglas worked for the Inland Revenue. He was an external adviser to the 1999 UNDP Human Development Report and is a Member of the Board of the Surrey Economic Partnership and a Governor of Cleves School in Oatlands.
Mr Douglas is not involved in any political activities.

ELIZABETH BRIGHOUSE
Liz Brighouse is Director of the Oxfordshire Council for Voluntary Action and in this role has been involved in setting up many voluntary/community groups in Oxfordshire. In addition, over the past 11 years she has been involved in community work in the Perm Region of the Russian Federation, encouraging the engagement of citizens in the development of services within a framework of local democracy.
Liz was involved in the setting up of the South East Regional Network for the Voluntary Sector (RAISE). She was actively involved in the Prince's Trust for 13 years and served on the National Network Development Committee and has served as a non-executive Director of the Radcliffe Infirmary NHS Trust and a founding Trustee of the Thames Valley Partnership for Safer Communities. She is on the Board of the Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Learning and Skills Council, has been a school governor for many years and in June 2001 was elected as a Labour Councillor to represent the Wood Farm area of Oxford on Oxfordshire County Council.
Mrs Brighouse holds no other Ministerial appointments.

JAMES BRATHWAITE CBE
Jim Brathwaite is Chief Executive of XL Entertainment, a media rights and holding company based in Chichester, which he founded in 1997. In 1996 he became Britain's first Black CEO of a publicly quoted company when he floated Epic Interactive Media.
Mr Brathwaite became a Director of Sussex TEC Ltd in April 1993 and was elected to the board of Sussex Enterprise in 1995. He was the founding Chair of Business Link Sussex and is a founding Director of 'Wired Sussex'. He is also a member of the National Small Business Council, Treasurer of the Caribbean Advisory Group at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and a member of the Government's Export Advisory Committee for the 'Americas'. Mr Brathwaite is the current Chair of the Arundel Festival and was a former Governor of Brighton & Hove 6th Form College and is a former member of the Council of the University of Sussex.
Mr Brathwaite was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen's New Year's Honours List 2000. He holds no other Ministerial appointments and is not involved in any political activities.