Supporting Liverpool Chamber's growth through two strategically important commercial appointments
The Client
Liverpool Chamber of Commerce CIC is one of the UK's longest-established business membership organisations, representing and supporting businesses across the Liverpool City Region. Through membership services, international trade support, business engagement initiatives, events and advocacy, the Chamber plays a vital role in helping businesses grow whilst contributing to regional economic development. Having supported Liverpool Chamber's CEO with executive coaching in the past, in 2026 Sherrington Associates were retained again, this time to help strengthen its commercial and membership functions through the appointment of both a Director of Membership Services and a Business Development Manager.
The Challenge
Both appointments were critical to the Chamber's future growth ambitions. The newly created Director of Membership Services role would provide strategic leadership across membership, commercial services, events, marketing alignment and stakeholder engagement. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive, the successful candidate would be responsible for shaping and delivering a compelling value proposition for members whilst driving both income and impact. Alongside this appointment, Liverpool Chamber required a Business Development Manager capable of accelerating membership growth, developing new commercial opportunities and engaging businesses across the city region through a consultative and relationship-led approach. The challenge would be to identify candidates who combined commercial credibility and business development expertise, balanced with a genuine passion for supporting businesses and contributing to the success of the Liverpool City Region.
The Search
Sherrington Associates partnered closely with Liverpool Chamber's leadership team to design and deliver a retained search process for both appointments. Drawing upon extensive networks across membership organisations, business support bodies, commercial organisations and the wider private sector, a targeted search campaign was undertaken focused on attracting high-calibre candidates with strong commercial acumen, stakeholder engagement capability and values alignment. Candidates were assessed through a values-based recruitment methodology, evaluating not only experience and technical capability but also cultural fit, leadership potential and alignment with the Chamber's organisational values. Throughout the assignment, particular emphasis was placed on identifying individuals with the credibility to engage effectively with businesses of all sizes, build trusted relationships and contribute positively to the Chamber's long-term growth objectives.
When the searches reached shortlist stage, our team supported the Chamber CEO by attending in-person interviews, and providing an assessment framework with which to benchmark candidates, as well as developing a post-interview summary report to help distill strengths and weaknesses, enabling a more accurate hiring decision when it came to final selection.
The Result
The assignment concluded with the successful appointment of Ruth Wildhart as the Chamber's new Director of Membership Services and Jake Wilson as their new Business Development Manager. Together, these appointments strengthened Liverpool Chamber's leadership capability, enhanced its membership growth function and reinforced its ability to deliver meaningful value to businesses across the Liverpool City Region. The successful candidates brought a blend of commercial expertise, relationship-building capability and strategic thinking that aligned closely with the Chamber's ambitions, positioning the organisation strongly for its next phase of growth and impact.
We retained Sherrington Associates to recruit these two important posts for Liverpool Chamber and found the robustness of the selection process impressive. The candidates were known within our network but without Sherrington's expertise, we wouldn't have had the breadth or range of options to compare against, nor the high quality of process management. Thanks to Sherrington Associates for your invaluable support.
Paul Cherpeau - CEO, Liverpool Chamber
We thoroughly enjoyed supporting Paul to recruit these two key positions for Liverpool Chamber. We wish Ruth and Jake every success in their new roles.
Rob McKay - Co-Founder & CEO, Sherrington Associates
*Pictured (Left to Right): Paul Cherpeau (CEO, Liverpool Chamber), Ruth Wildhart (Director of Membership Services, Liverpool Chamber), Jake Wilson (Business Development Manager, Liverpool Chamber), Rob McKay (Co-Founder & CEO, Sherrington Associates)
