Business News Curtain rises on new financial officer By John Lamb


Helen Bates, director of finance and resources at Birmingham Hippodrome Theatre Trust, has been appointed chief financial officer at Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce and will assume her duties at the end of September. “We look forward to welcoming


Helen to our senior management team, where she will play a leading and high-profile role in driving and representing one of the leading Chambers in the UK.” Helen is from Solihull. After


living and working in Germany for two years, she studied economics at Manchester University followed by CIPFA accountancy training at Manchester City Council. Helen moved to Edinburgh


District Council in 1991 and while in Edinburgh she responded to an advert seeking “legitimate thespians” and found herself setting up from scratch the finance function of Edinburgh Festival Theatre, which opened in 1994. In 2003 she persuaded her


Scottish family to move to Birmingham, when she was appointed director of finance and


Welcome: Helen Bates with Paul Faulkner


resources at Birmingham Hippodrome, one of the most popular theatres in the UK. Helen has been a member of the


theatre’s senior management team and has overseen a team of six responsible for all the finance and HR functions for the theatre’s four companies (including two charities) with a combined annual turnover of over £25m. Helen is a member of the


Business Support & Audit Sub- committee of St Basil’s Youth Homelessness Charity and a non- executive Trustee of Performances Birmingham Limited. Helen lives in Barnt Green with


her partner Steve Vantsis, a rock bass guitarist who has worked with Fish and Tilt, and their student son Calvin. She enjoys, theatre, travel and reading German novels. Helen said: “I have enjoyed my


time with the Hippodrome and now I greatly look forward to working at the Chamber. “It is one of the most vibrant Chambers in the country and will present me with a number of challenges across a wide and diverse spectrum of responsibilities.”


July/August 2017 CHAMBERLINK 13


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