The Suffolk Business Board was established in May 2024 following the integration of New Anglia Local Enterprise Partnership functions into Suffolk County Council. It comprises representatives from business, education, the voluntary sector and local government.
Business Board members:
Chair: Mark Pendlington
Deputy Chair: Cllr Matthew Hicks, Suffolk County Council
Doug Field, East of England Co-Op
Oliver Paul, Suffolk Food Hall
Lisa Perkins, Tech East
Peter Brady, Orbital Global
Kelly Boosey, Oxford Innovation
Leanne Gittins, LME Recruitment
John Dugmore, Suffolk Chamber of Commerce
Tom Ball, Ipswich Town Football Club
Hannah Bloom, Suffolk Community Foundation
Paul Ager, Associated British Ports
Marek Hornak, University of Suffolk
Nikos Savvas, Eastern Education Group
Cllr Richard Smith MVO, Suffolk County Council
Cllr Andy Mellen, Mid Suffolk District Council
Cllr Neil MacDonald, Ipswich Borough Council
Want to know more about our new Chair of the Suffolk Business Board, Lisa Perkins?
We sat down with Lisa for a quick 60-second Q&A to hear about her career journey, her ambitions for Suffolk, and the opportunities she believes can drive growth across the county.
𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐬𝐮𝐦 𝐮𝐩 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐬?
I joined BT as a graduate and enjoyed a 25y+ career in a variety of technology driven roles, culminating in driving research and innovation around an effective ecosystem to promote new solutions to big challenges. I continue that quest today at an expert innovation company, Plexal, who drive mission led innovation and consequential growth.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭’𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐢𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤’𝐬 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐨𝐦𝐲 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐰?
Well, I would say this wouldn’t I! I think the biggest opportunity is to double down on our core strengths of energy, shipping & logistics and agrifood and to create innovation clusters that bring together academia, industry and entrepreneurs to apply digital technologies to realise new solutions and to promote growth for companies, to attract and retain talent for high value jobs and to solve societal challenges.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐚𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤 𝐁𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐁𝐨𝐚𝐫𝐝?
I hope to deliver. I would like to turn our strategy and our ambitions into reality. I have a great board with huge expertise and passion and between us we can work in collaboration with the key stakeholders in the region to choose the best interventions for change.
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐲?
I would like to see everyone getting behind Suffolk, our strategy and our strengths and to shine the brightest spotlight on everything that we achieve. I would like to see people on the rooftops shouting about all that Suffolk has to offer!
𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐒𝐮𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐤?
There is so much to choose from! Place, People and Possibilities. But Paddleboarding down the river Deben is up there!
We’ll be sharing more 60 second interviews with our Business Board over the coming weeks – and you can learn more about all of them here.
WHERE BIG
IDEAS HAPPEN.