Birmingham Forward determined to carry on former chief's good work
Lobby group Birmingham Forward has vowed to carry on the legacy of its chief executive who was forced to stand down due to ill health.
The organisation’s chief Richard Brennan stepped down to continue his battle against cancer.
And just two weeks ago, chairman Graham Nicoll quit unexpectedly after being moved into an international role at Barclays Wealth.
But new chair Jackie Hendley said she and interim chief executive Mary Daunt were still committed to the same business plan as before the organisation, and the loss of its two high-profile executives would not affect the work it does for the business community in Birmingham.
After Mr Brennan announced his resignation, following more than six months suffering from the effects of the disease, Ms Hendley paid tribute to his five years of work at the organisation.
And she added: “Over the past year, under Richard’s guidance as CEO, Birmingham Forward has reinvigorated its vision, mission and values as well as set in place a three year plan around the themes of Brand Birmingham, transport and infrastructure and, finally, people and development. These three themes will continue to guide the actions of the organisation over the coming years.
“In addition, our particular focus for the year 2010-2011 will be on collaboration, working closely with West Midlands Knowledge, Marketing Birmingham, Colmore Business District, the Chamber of Commerce and others to jointly achieve maximum benefits from inward investment in the city and promotion of Birmingham nationally and internationally.
“While there have been a number of changes to the personnel involved with the organisation, we retain a very experienced and passionate board.”
Ms Hendley – a tax partner at big four accountant KPMG – has been joined at the organisation by its new interim chief executive Mary Daunt, who will be running the day-to-day operations of Forward in the forseeable future.
Ms Daunt, who was previously a board director between 2005 and 2008 at the organisation is a consultant at law firm Hammonds. She had previously worked at Midland firm Browne Jacobson.
Ms Hendley said: “Mary will work closely with both me, the board and office teams to ensure we continue to do our best to provide an environment of excellence in our drive to make Birmingham the city of choice for business.”
The new chair had to take over at Birmingham Forward after the surprise resignation of Graham Nicoll in June after just two months in the role.
