TWO new board members have joined the Leeds City Region Enterprise Partnership to support its work driving growth for the region.

Joining the board are Kate Hainsworth, Chief Executive Officer of Leeds Community Foundation and Mandy Ridyard, Financial Director of Baildon-based Produmax.

Kate Hainsworth brings a wealth of experience in business, strategy and community development to the LEP Board. In 2018, she was appointed CEO of Leeds Community Foundation and Give Bradford and has guided the Foundation toward its vision of addressing inequalities and creating opportunities for those in need. She has been instrumental in raising the profile of the Foundation which has distributed over £42 million in grants to support charities and voluntary groups across Leeds and Bradford since inception.

Her expertise will be invaluable to the LEP Board and its vision of transforming the Leeds City Region through inclusive growth.

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Mandy Ridyard brings extensive experience in finance, manufacturing and productivity improvement to the LEP Board. She has led Produmax as Financial Director since 1999.

Produmax is an award-winning global aerospace company that has seen significant growth over the last five years and exports 70 per cent of its turnover worldwide. Mandy is passionate about employee engagement and received a Top 100 in Manufacturing award for culture change. She drives an apprenticeship programme at Produmax that has seen the average age of the company drop to 35 and the headcount double. Mandy’s impressive experience will be vital to the Board’s goal to help with skills development and create thousands of new jobs and apprenticeships across the Leeds City Region.

The LEP board brings together business and council leaders to oversee and make strategic decisions related to its Strategic Economic Plan. This approach to partnership working provides the best of both worlds: private sector expertise on what businesses need to grow, and democratic accountability for public sector investment. These partnerships are vital to realising the best economic outcomes for the City Region.

The LEP Board is currently looking for business people who share a passion for the future of the region’s economy and want to share their skills and experience to make a real and positive difference to the region’s prosperity. Being a member of the LEP Board is a rewarding way of giving back to the community and provides opportunities for further personal and professional development.

Kate Hainsworth, LEP Board Member said: “I am really looking forward to being a part of the LEP Board, and exploring ways to value and enhance the vital contribution communities make to our future economy and growth.”

Mandy Ridyard, LEP Board Member said: “As a new board member I am thrilled to be able contribute to the strategy that helps unlock the vast economic potential of the Leeds City Region, the largest regional economy outside of London.”