The key to the success of the Observatory relies on co-operation between each level within its structure.
However, the driving force behind it is the Partnership Board, which makes the decisions that shape the direction of the Observatory. These are then taken up by the Executive Unit and delivered to the users of the Observatory, such as the Regional Data and Intelligence Network.
To ensure that all members of the West Midlands community are represented within the Observatory Board, representatives were selected from various regional organisations from the public, private, and voluntary sector. Bringing all these organisational views together to produce directional input for the Observatory allows the project to become accessible to everyone that wants to use the Observatory to retrieve and use information on the region.
The diverse board also ensures a level of objectivity with regards to the work and the information that the Observatory holds. This is key to the Observatory's success and is at the forefront of any work that the Observatory produces.
Chair of West Midlands Regional Observatory Board
Richard Hyde is CEO of Brian Hyde Ltd, a hand tool distributor that was a previous winner of West Midlands SME of year. He is a non executive director of Centro, the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority that handles a million passengers a day. He is Deputy Chairman of the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, a charity that manages, for the nation, one of the most important and popular heritage tourist attractions in the country. He was previously Deputy Chairman of Advantage West Midlands, the West Midlands regional development agency.
Deputy Chair
Roger McKenzie is the regional secretary of the Midlands Trades Union Congress (TUC), a post he took up at the beginning of October 2004. Roger is the first black person in the history of the TUC to hold such a post. Roger is also the highest ever ranking black person in a policy post at the TUC.
For the previous four years Roger was the race equality officer of the TUC where he was responsible for advising senior officials at the organisation and unions on progressing race equality policy in the workplace and wider society. During this time Roger was the secretary of the TUC Stephen Lawrence task group that worked to tackle institutional racism at work and within the trade union movement. Roger was responsible for leading the change in TUC rules to institutionalise equality within the trade union movement.
Before joining the TUC Roger had a varied career which included working for the largest civil service union, teaching trade union courses to union representatives, housing management, painting and decorating and building labouring.
Roger has a Masters degree in Industrial Relations and Human Resource Management from Keele University. He is carrying out research towards a PhD at London Metropolitan University on the origins and development of black-self organisation in the UK labour movement. Roger is also a graduate of the 2008 Harvard University Trade Union Programme.
Members of the West Midlands Regional Observatory Board
Tim Gebbels
Corporate Director Strategy & Communications
Advantage West Midlands
Tim is Corporate Director of Strategy and Communications at Advantage West Midlands. Prior to taking this role, Tim spent much of his career in the private sector working first in the upstream oil and gas industry BP, Maersk and Schlumberger, and then as a Management Consultant with the Boston Consulting Group.
Tim was the West Midlands Regional Observatory's first Chief Executive (2002-2007), leading the organisation from inception to maturity as the central source for intelligence and evidence to underpin regional policy formulation and strategy development.
Pamela Taylor
Principal, Newman University College
Representing all of the West Midlands Higher Education Association member institutions
Pamela Taylor is the Principal of Newman University College in Birmingham. Newman is a Catholic college with an inclusive mission. It has achieved particular success in widening participation and in employability.
After a period seconded to OFSTED to work with HMI on the inspection of Initial Teacher Training, Pamela moved to Newman as Vice Principal becoming Principal two years later in 2000.
Pamela is the former Chair of GuildHE, the representative body for smaller and specialist universities and colleges of higher education. She is on the Board of the Leadership Foundation and the HEFCE advisory committee on leadership, governance and management. She is the current Chair of the Council of Church Universities and Colleges and is on the Board of UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.
Pamela’s current interests are in leadership and management and early years education.
Dave Marr
Head of Planning and Housing
Government Office for the West Midlands
Dave is the Government Office for the West Midlands’ lead for all Planning and Housing matters and is a chartered town planner. He has worked in the Government Office since September 1999, following a long planning career in local government. Dave has been actively involved with the Government’s planning reform agenda from the outset and continues to work closely with colleagues, both nationally and within the region, to help refine it. He has also been closely involved with the regional and sub-regional growth agenda.
Dave is also an Assistant Director for the Government Office’s Sustainable Futures Directorate, which deals with a wide range of thematic work from environment to regional policy. He is also the senior area lead for Coventry, responsible for identifying Government Office priorities for the City and a board member on both the West Midlands Regional Observatory and RegenWM.
Dave lives in Warwick and is married with two children. His interests include music, orienteering and other outdoor activities.
Dr Rashmi Shukla
Prior to Rashmi’s appointment as joint Director of Public Health for NHS West Midlands Strategic Health Authority and Department of Health (Government Office West Midlands) she was the Department of Health’s Regional Director of Public Health for the West Midlands.
After graduating from Southampton Medical School Rashmi initially pursued a postgraduate career in general medicine and subsequently became interested in prevention and population health improvement and protection. After training in public health medicine, Rashmi acquired extensive experience in all aspects of public health at a senior level working for primary care trusts and health authorities in the East Midlands.
Outside of work her main interests include cycling, skiing and supporting her local rugby team.
Ken Taylor
Representing West Midlands Local Government Association
Cllr Ken Taylor became Leader of Coventry City Council in June 2004. He has been a councillor for the Earlsdon ward in Coventry for 18 years, and Leader of the Conservative group at the Council since 2003. From 2002 to 2003 he was also Lord Mayor of the city.
Ken has lived in Coventry since 1972, working for a number of multi-national companies such as Nestle and ICI in sales management positions. From 1990 until he became Leader of the Council, he was the Conservative party agent for Coventry's three parliamentary constituencies.
Ken has held a number of key positions during his time in public service, including serving as a Director of Whitefriars Housing Association and a governor at two Coventry schools, chairing various Council committees and as a member of the West Midlands Passenger Transport Authority. At present, Ken is Chair of the Local Government Association and Chair of the West Midlands Joint Leaders Committee.
Claire Edwards
Regional Data & Intelligence Network Board Representative
Claire Edwards works for Natural England as the Regional Geographic Information Development Co-ordinator overseeing GI within the West Midlands Region. Prior to this Claire held a similar post with RDS, MAFF and ADAS which she joined in 1996. Previously Claire worked for a private Cartographic Company in London producing maps for various publications.
Claire's memberships include the Association for Geographic Information and the Intra-Governmental group on Geographic Information, which is a cross-departmental group working with partners in the geographic information industry to co-ordinate and promote the effective use of geographic information in central government.
Claire graduated from University College London in 1993 with an MSc in Remote Sensing. She gained a B.Sc. in Cartography/Geography from Oxford Brookes University.
Peter Shearer
Director, Business Partnership Unit, Aston University
Representing West Midlands Business Council
Peter is Director of the Business Partnership Unit at Aston University, developing and managing the University’s strategic links with business and the public sector across the West Midlands. This includes commercial deals involving university research, technology and knowledge transfer to companies; intellectual property and spin-out companies; European and regional funding opportunities; collaborations with the regional development agency and other key bodies; and leading the University’s involvement within regional strategies and initiatives in areas such as innovation, science, skills, regeneration and the growth of knowledge-based businesses.
A physics graduate with an MBA, Peter’s earlier career was in automotive engineering and management consultancy. Prior to his current role, he was Director of Corporate Programmes at Aston Business School, and undertook a two year secondment to Advantage West Midlands working with the professional services and medical technologies clusters. He sits on a number of regional bodies including the Skills and European Policy Groups of West Midlands Business Council, and the Advisory Board of the College of Law.
Sharon Palmer
Chief Executive, Regional Action West Midlands
Sharon is Chief Executive for Regional Action West Midlands, having previously held the post of Deputy Director, and that of Policy & Research Co-ordinator since 2001.
She has previously worked for Save the Children Fund on development issues both at home and overseas. In addition, Sharon has had experience of working in Local Authority settings in Birmingham and Walsall and, of working as part of a Joseph Rowntree Foundation research group.
All of these experiences have given her a zest for life, and she can often be found doing voluntary work in a variety of settings.
Rose Poulter
Director of Policy
West Midlands Regional Assembly and West Midlands Local Government Association
Rose is Director of Policy, heading a team who are primarily responsible for developing and implementing the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy and the Regional Housing Strategy. She is also responsible for leading the Assembly’s work on regional transport, culture, health and environmental issues. Much of Rose’s work over the last few years has focused on integrating policy development and securing effective partnership working at the regional level.
Rose began her career in the Economic Development Unit at West Midlands County Council (WMCC) in 1982. At WMCC she worked on a number Urban Programme projects, whilst also being sponsored on a Masters degree (Urban and Regional Studies) at University of Birmingham.
In 1985 she moved to Birmingham City Council to the newly established Economic Development Unit. Rose spent 13 years at Birmingham City Council working on a variety of issues including Birmingham’s Economic Strategy, skills development and work with the voluntary sector and RSLs to develop social enterprises, many of which are still operational.
Rose is currently based at Advantage West Midlands where she is leading the Sub National Review (SNR) Transition Team. She is working with regional partners and Advantage West Midlands staff to co-ordinate the effective implementation of SNR in the region.
Richard Riley
Executive Officer
West Midlands Higher Education Association
Richard is the Executive Officer for the West Midlands Higher Education Association. This membership organisation supports the Vice Chancellors and Principals of the 13 regional Universities and University Colleges in the establishment and delivery of a strategy for regional engagement.
Richard was previously the Regional Director of the Contact Knowledge Exchange. This programme works across the 13 Higher Education Institutions in the West Midlands of England providing a range of services to support their collaborative interaction with business.
Richard was Corporate Development Director at Birmingham City University. Richard's earlier academic career included a six year period as Head of the School of Computer Science and Information Management and Associate Dean roles in business development and external affairs.
Richard has published and given several international talks on brokerage and knowledge management models in support of university liaison with business and the use of computer supported cooperative tools in e-learning.
Julie Robson
Deputy Regional Director, West Midlands Learning and Skills Council
Julie has been involved in learning and development for over 28 years, in a variety of roles most of which have been spent in the West Midlands.
Julie is the Deputy Regional Director for the West Midlands Learning and Skills Council (LSC) and supports the overall operation and performance of activities funded by the West Midlands LSC. The LSC has the key role to commission and procure government funded post 16 education and training (up to higher skill level) to meet the needs of individuals and business.
Julie has also retained her role as Regional Skills Director and leads on demand led issues to ensure funded provision for adults meets employer and learner needs. Her team works closely with Sector Skills Councils, employers and employer organisations to understand present and future needs for skills delivery. The Train to Gain service managed by the skills team is the key vehicle to engage employer and support workforce development. The team also has a key role in employment issues and supporting the skills needs of individuals to help gain sustained employment.
Steve Sawbridge
Regional Director, Association of Colleges – West Midlands
Representing the further education sector
Steve Sawbridge is the Regional Director for the Association of Colleges in the West Midlands. Based at Wolverhampton Science Park, AoCWM represents the interests of 47 general further education, sixth form and specialist colleges in the West Midlands, and promotes their contribution to the region’s economic and social well being.
Steve has wide ranging experience within the further education system, having worked in management roles in colleges and as a freelance consultant working with colleges on a number of further education improvement initiatives. From 2001 to 2006, Steve held a number of posts at the Learning and Skills Council National Office, working on policy and strategy for quality improvement in the FE sector, and in particular, embedding the LSC's approach to quality assurance and provider planning in its annual siness cycle.
Prior to joining AoC in June 2007, Steve was Head of Strategic Partnerships at the Quality Improvement Agency for Lifelong Learning where, amongst other things, he had a responsibility for developing the Agency's links with the regions.
Amanda Turner
Head of Strategic Policy Research Team
Staffordshire County Council
The team specialises in planning, economic and demographic-related research and supports local and regional policy development, including working on behalf of the West Midlands Regional Assembly on the development and monitoring of the Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS).
As well as her day job back at Staffordshire she is currently the RSS Monitoring Policy lead. This involves the development of the RSS monitoring framework, delivery of the Regional RSS Annual Monitoring Report including the collection of the supporting evidence base and inputting to national developments on monitoring issues working with Communities and Local Government. She also works on housing policy issues in conjunction with the RSS Housing Policy lead. She is a member of many WMRA officer groups in support of her work for the Regional Assembly.
She is a Chartered Town Planner, graduating from Nottingham University in 1995 with a BA (Hons) degree in Geography and subsequently gaining two postgraduate degrees in town planning and management studies. She is a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
Amanda is a Regional Data & Intelligence Network representative on the board.
Louise Bennett
Chief Executive
Coventry and Warwickshire Chamber of Commerce
Louise's career has spanned both the private and public sector including Chambers of Commerce, the National Health Service and the retail industry. She has also undertaken lecturing on the Masters in Business Administration and has run her own small business.
Louise is a graduate with a first class honors degree, is a qualified Human Resource practitioner and has a Masters in Business Administration.
Louise is a Board member of C&W Chamber, CW Chamber Training, Broad Horizons, LLP, CSWP, Employment & Skills Board, Coventry Partnership, Warwickshire PSB and Chair of Warwickshire LAA.
In her own time, Louise enjoys nothing more than spending time with her two daughters and her horses. She enjoys studying, writing and occasionally can be seen riding her Honda motorbike!