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Heart of the South West LEP AGM to be held 13th October

The Heart of the South West LEP will be holding their Annual General Meeting (AGM)  via online webinar on Friday 13th October, with free tickets now available.

This year’s AGM will include a summary of the LEP’s activities and achievements over the past year; from unlocking opportunities in key sectors, to recent Government announcements and the future of the LEP. The AGM will be held via webinar from 9:30 – 11:30am. The event will be live-streamed from the South West Academic Health Science Network in Exeter. 

As a partnership between the private sector, local authorities, universities and colleges, the LEP’s purpose is to raise productivity and ensure prosperity for all through clean and inclusive growth.

The AGM is an opportunity to hear about recent work between the LEP and its partnerships and find out what is planned for the future. This year the focus will be around how the LEP will evolve over the next year. The Government has confirmed that Government funding and sponsorship for LEPs will cease after April 2024. LEP functions will transfer to local democratic institutions, namely upper-tier local authorities.

Karl Tucker, Chair of the Heart of the South West LEP, LEP Board member David Bird, and Chief Executive David Ralph, will be answering delegates’ questions live at the end of the webinar.

The AGM will be recorded, and will be available to download from the Heart of the South West LEP website after the event.

Register for free: https://www.crowdcast.io/c/heartofswlep-agm2023

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      David Ralph

      Chief Executive

      David Ralph started as Chief Executive of Heart of South West LEP at the beginning of June 2018. Previously, he had spent 5 years as CEO of the Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire (D2N2) LEP from 2013 where he oversaw the development of the D2N2 Strategic Economic Plan and sector strategies, 3 Growth Deals with HM Government to deliver a £1billion capital investment programme, securing and implementing £200m ESIF programme, the Derby and Nottingham Enterprise Zone, the D2N2 Skills Deal and Time for Innovation programme, community fund and led the executive team to develop the HS2 East Midlands hub. He was also closely involved in the proposed North Midlands Devolution Deal and one of the key architects in establishing the Midlands Engine, chairing the officer steering group. Whilst in this role David was a NED of the Nottingham Enterprise Zone, and Marketing NG, the Outer Estates Foundation and a Governor of Nottingham College and on the advisory Board of Nottingham Business School.

      Before the East Midlands, David was CEO of the Have Gateway Partnership working closely with local stakeholders including the ports of Felixstowe, Harwich and Ipswich and BT Adadastral Park across Suffolk and Essex and prior to that was Chief Exec of the Barton Hill New Deal for Communities programme in Bristol and the Nelm Development Trust in Norwich.

      David is a keen sailor, walker and trail runner.