THE new Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership has appointed a chairman to help drive forward the economic vision for the area.

Neville Reyner (CBE DL) brings with him to the new cash-strapped economic development body a wealth of business experience and has performed a range of broader roles at local, national and international levels.

He lives in Royston and is chairman of Anglia Components Ltd in Wisbech, as well as being president of the British Chamber of Commerce and a Fellow of the Institute of Directors.

He takes up the unpaid post on March 1.

Mr Reyner started his working life as an electrician in the coal mines of north-east Lancashire and progressed to be become a chartered electrical engineer. He spent 15 years as UK executive vice-president of Mitsubishi Electric Europe, a global electrical conglomerate, and was responsible for a turnover of �250million. He left at the end of 1998.

He also took Mitsubishi Semiconductor in the UK & Ireland from start-up to a company worth over �150m in 15 years. Before this, he worked with Fairchild Semiconductor and Analog Devices.

He was deputy chairman of the East of England Regional Development Agency between 1999 and 2003.

He has a BSc degree in electrical and electronic engineering from Leeds, and a Masters in Business Administration from Cranfield.

Neville Reyner said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to chair of the Greater Cambridge Greater Peterborough Enterprise Partnership. I have already been impressed by the dedication, energy and commitment shown by all of the organisations and partners involved in the project to date. We have a good base to build on.

“I recognise, however, that this is going to be a challenging role because we are in uncharted territory. The enterprise partnership is a brand new entity, which we will have to create afresh.

“Our area, with its diverse and growing economy, and its wealth of globally-competitive clusters, is one of the most important in the UK. Achieving our economic potential will be critical for the Government in terms of driving overall economic growth and recovery for the UK. I look forward to starting work in earnest on this project from March 1.”

The LEP is now recruiting board members to join Mr Reyner. Applications close on February 25. More at www.yourlocalenterprisepartnership.co.uk.