inform SOUTH WEST BUSINESS NEWS


Nominate your new president


The three-year term of office as Chamber president by Professor Stephen West CBE will expire shortly. In accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the Bristol Chamber and Initiative, Chamber members are able to nominate persons for this office. Applications can be made by post and email until 15 September and once nominations are finalised a selection process will take place led by the BCCI board. Business West will look to announce the result late in September, with the handover of office taking place at the autumn quarterly meeting of the West of England Initiative, in October. For further information


contact chairman John Savage by email at


john.savage@businesswest.co .uk or by post to Bristol Chamber of Commerce and Initiative, Leigh Court, Abbots Leigh, Bristol BS8 3RA.


Sam joins the chain gang


Sam Evans has been promoted to Hinkley supply chain business engagement manager, taking on increased responsibility for Somerset Chamber’s Hinkley supply chain team. Sam joined the Hinkley


supply chain team in January 2014 and has been instrumental in developing the local supply chain database for the Hinkley Point C project, which now comprises more than 3,800 Somerset and South West businesses. Sam said: “It’s really good to


be acknowledged for the hard work and commitment I have put in over the past three years, and to be given the opportunity to grow with the project”


New BW chairman Iain Wolsey 6 insight SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2017


The Severn Bridge linking England and Wales


Scrapping tolls will boost business choice


Scrapping toll charges on the Severn Bridge will save Bristol businesses thousands of pounds in transport costs – and accelerate collaboration with Cardiff, Newport, and the wider South Wales region. That’s according to Paul Matthews,


head of Bruton Knowles’ Bristol office, who has worked with colleagues in the firm’s Cardiff office on a ‘shared vision’ for greater cross-Severn connectivity. Welcoming the Government


‘Civic leaders and industry chiefs on both


co-operation’


announcement that tolls are to be scrapped next year, Paul Matthews said the two cities should work more closely together to create a powerful regional bloc capable of challenging London, the South East and the Northern Powerhouse.


sides of the bridge share a vision of closer


He said: “Civic leaders and industry chiefs on both sides of the bridge share a vision of closer co-operation – and scrapping the tolls 12 months earlier than we expected is great news for businesses anxious about the fallout from leaving the EU. “Scrapping tolls gives businesses


an uninterrupted route into markets old and new while Bristol workers will be able to extend their search for a new home into places like Chepstow, Caldicot and Magor. “Toll charges have always been one of the biggest obstacles to greater cooperation


between businesses either side of the bridge and we believe improved infrastructure is key to the area’s economic viability.”


Marketer takes on BW chair


Business West has appointed one of the region’s top marketers as its new chairman. Iain Wolsey has held senior marketing positions in the UK and is the founding partner in the Bristol consultancy of Wolsey Meech. He takes over the role of chairman from Mark Mason who held the post temporarily and who remains on the Board. Iain Wolsey said: “I am delighted


to join the board of Business West, whose role is far reaching. I firmly believe in the importance of the leadership and business support


role that it plays at local, regional, national and indeed international level. Phil Smith, managing director of Business West, said: “I am delighted to welcome Iain who, with a career spanning 50 years, brings with him a wealth of business and marketing knowledge.” Business West has also


welcomed to the board, Dr Jonathan Frost OBE who, until recently, had been with Johnson Matthey for 16 years, latterly as technology strategy director.


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