Business News
Greg Lowson, head of office at Pinsent Masons and president of the Chamber
In Brief
Benjamin Zephaniah is among a host of names to be appearing at this year’s Birmingham Literature Festival. Handsworth-born Zephaniah
will be joined by another West Midlands poet Liz Berry to discuss how accent and dialect shape and colour their writing, in an event which is being sponsored by Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce. More information on the
Greg looks back at his two-year legacy
By John Lamb
Greg Lowson has been the first two-year president of Birmingham Chamber for 71 years but his legacy will prevail long beyond 2016. The head of office at lawyers Pinsent Masons in Birmingham will be succeeded by Birmingham Airport chief executive Paul Kehoe at the Chamber’s annual meeting on 5 October. Greg agreed to serve two years – the first president
to do so since Alderman Kenneth H. Wilson in 1944-45 - and it is hoped that this will now become the norm.
‘Greater Birmingham Chambers has blossomed in recent years’
“The board felt that with Jerry Blackett retiring and a new president coming in there could be a loss of corporate knowledge, and one year was regarded as not being enough to ensure the success of a number of projects,” said Greg. And make his mark he did. He led the launch of the
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR City) programme, which has brought together Birmingham City Council, Greater Birmingham and Solihull LEP, the Chamber and the private sector to forge better engagement between business and education. CSR City is designed to improve the motivation and
aspirations of young people, while enhancing their employability skills and increasing their awareness of the world of work. Said Greg: “CSR City has been a personal ambition and
the two-year term has really allowed me to develop that. Greg said his two years as president have flown by.
“It’s been a really interesting two years. Bringing in and helping to bed in Paul Faulkner as the new CEO has really worked out. Paul has introduced a lot of changes and he and his team can look back on his first year and be very proud of it. “Membership is increasing and we have introduced a
proper branding programme so that the Chamber is even more visible. I have also been delighted to see
that the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce and the Future Faces Chamber of Commerce have been property integrated into Greater Birmingham Chambers with common branding and titles. “Greater Birmingham Chambers has blossomed in
recent years. There was a difficult period where we lost public contracts which had previously been funded from Europe and the Chamber had to downsize. “But even during that exercise its profile never really
dipped. In the last two years I think the Chamber has never been better placed – a new Customer Relationship Management system, new marketing team and growth in membership. “It’s also been a great privilege to chair many
Chamber events, including patrons’ lunches where we have introduced leading national and regional political and economic figures to some of our leading businesses. “We also had a record attendance at the dinner this
year and I’m delighted to announce that we have raised more than £20k for my chosen charity of Cure Leukaemia. My thanks to all those people who have contributed.”
Greg Lowson has been an “invaluable ambassador” for Greater Birmingham Chambers over his two years as president, said chief executive Paul Faulkner. Paul added that he was delighted Greg would
be remaining on the board as the Chamber continued its evolution to meet the business needs of the 21st Century. Paul added: “It was Greg and chairman David
Waller who really excited me about the Chamber of Commerce and inspired me to come on board as chief executive last year. “Greg’s contribution during his term has been enormous and he has proved to be an invaluable ambassador for the Chamber network, as well as a massive supporter for me in a personal capacity. “Greg’s wise counsel has been a huge asset for
the Chamber.”
festival – which runs from 6 to 16 October can be found at
www.birminghamliteraturefestival.org
Birmingham-based Hills Numberplates is to continue its rapid expansion after receiving a £10m investment boost. Hills is the third largest
number plate manufacturer in the world and has 80 years’ experience of providing products to international clients including Honda, Fiat, Ford and Toyota. The company has received
funding from Finance Birmingham, Birmingham City Council, Natwest Corporate and Commercial Finance and RBS Invoice Finance to support its continued growth following the recent acquisition of French number plate manufacturer Faab Fabricauto.
The Vox Conference Centre, situated in Resorts World Birmingham, has reached a significant milestone – by staging its 100th event since opening 12 months ago. The new venue has welcomed
almost 30,000 delegates since its doors opened in September 2015.
James Elston, sales director
for the Vox and the ICC, said, “It has been an exciting 10 months since the Vox opened and to get the venue to its 100th event so quickly is a huge achievement.”
Businesses have backed a second term for Northfield Business Improvement District – a group set up to improve and promote Northfield town centre. The vote saw 70.3 per cent of
Northfield businesses back a second term. BID chair Andy Clarke said:
“We can now continue with the good work achieved so far, and look forward to another five years of extra services and added value across Northfield.”
September 2016 CHAMBERLINK7
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