New Board Recruitment Project - 11 x Board Members & Chair

Following the dissolution of Local Enterprise Partnerships in early 2024, Sherrington Associates were retained by Enterprise Cheshire & Warrington, the new public-private sector initiative established to continue the LEP's economic development work across the sub-region, to support with the recruitment of a new Business Advisory Board.

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Cheshire & Warrington Business Advisory Board

2024 witnessed a new approach for Cheshire and Warrington, with the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership becoming Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington and transferring into the ownership of the three Cheshire and Warrington local authorities. Simultaneously, the local authorities are creating a new Business Advisory Board with a remit to provide local authority leaders with support and advice to help them realise the sub-region’s vision of becoming the healthiest, most sustainable, inclusive and growing place in the country.

The Business Advisory Board (BAB) would be involved from the earliest stage in supporting elected members and officers from the local authorities and Enterprise Cheshire and Warrington to develop and review the economic strategies that will help deliver the sub-region’s vision, ensuring that the ‘voice of business’ is clearly heard in economic policy making. More than anything, the BAB would need to deliver clear insight into what it’s like to do business in Cheshire and Warrington in both the with and without profit sectors, what drives their success, but also what holds them back.

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Chair & Board Members

The BAB would comprise twenty one highly-experienced business leaders from across Cheshire & Warrington, led by an accomplished Chair of the Board. The board would need to be representative of the economic and cultural dynamics of the area. The board would require a wide range of knowledge, experience, and networks across its membership and as such, ECW needed a Business Advisory Board made up of members with a variety of backgrounds, including individuals from all age ranges, organisational sizes and from newly formed businesses to the well-established.

The BAB also needed to be fully representative of the business community of Cheshire and Warrington, including urban, rural and all geographical areas. Sectors important to the local economy would need to be represented (including charities, the voluntary sector, not-for-profit and other social enterprises) and the board would need to be inclusive of all regardless of gender, ethnicity, or ability.

Key Characteristics of Board Members:

• A significant connection to Cheshire and Warrington.
• Genuine interest and good understanding of Cheshire and Warrington, in particular, the opportunities and challenges faced by businesses operating in the Cheshire and Warrington economy and a strong commitment to the success of the region’s economy.
• Be independently minded – able to be detached from personal issues and provide clarity in the development of strategy and the identification of opportunities.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, articulate, passionate and have an ability to influence and network.
• Willing to provide the time commitment to the Business Advisory Board and see the personal development opportunity provided by the appointment.

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The Search

Following a detailed consultation and briefing process held with key stakeholders at ECW's headquarters, Sherrington Associates assembled a Project Team comprising a Lead Consultant, Lead Researcher, Project Administrator and with oversight and scrutiny from members of our Advisory Board.

Research began in summer 2024 with exacting deadlines due to meet, due to ECW's commitment to Local Authority Leaders that board nominations would be ready by September. The Sherrington team carried out intensive desk research to identify relevant senior leadership candidates from a wide range of backgrounds. Using a matrix model to ensure the right numbers of candidates were engaged across each of the variables highlighted in the brief (eg: DEI metrics, geography, sectoral representation), our researchers engaged over 100 potential candidates and deselected using a methodical screening process. Our network of leadership candidates across the region also introduced high-calibre candidates for both Chair and Board Member roles from trusted referral sources. Following several weeks of intensive search activity, the campaign delivered an exceptionally strong longlist on time.

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Assessment & Selection

Having verified client satisfaction at longlist stage, our Project Team invited long-listed candidates to competency interviews with our Lead Consultant. Board Member and Chair candidates were asked to complete a Personal Values Assessment, and Chair candidates were also asked to complete a 4A Sustainable Leadership Self-Assessment. These results supplemented the insights gained from in-depth competency interviews and a shortlist was identified comprising leadership candidates from a diverse range of industry backgrounds, geographies and DEI variables.

Our Project Team met with clients at ECW headquarters again, this time to review the findings of the assessments and interviews and consult over the final shortlist. Sharing valuable insights about each candidate to help the client determine their own approach to final stage interviews, a final selection process was decided on and the team supported with the arrangement of interviews, briefing shortlisted candidates and providing feedback to rejected candidates.

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Results

Following an exhaustive search campaign, executed over an intense period through the summer of 2024, the nominations for the Chair and all new Board Members of the new Cheshire & Warrington Business Advisory Board were ratified by the Joint Committee of Local Authority Leaders in September 2024. Commenting on the success of the project, Philip Cox, CEO of Enterprise Cheshire & Warrington said...