New Forward Chair sets out aims for his year in office

As day nine dawned of Gary Cardin’s year in office as the Chair of Birmingham Forward he has used the opportunity to set out his aims and vision for the forthcoming year at an event held this morning at Four Brindleyplace.

Gary, who is also Birmingham Office Head for Drivers Jonas Deloitte, shared the platform at a Birmingham Forward breakfast event entitled “Commonality of Business Voice” with Strategic Director of Development at Birmingham City Council, Mark Barrow.

In his first speech as Chair, Gary Cardin laid out his four key themes for his year but began by reflecting on the difficult challenges faced by the organisation in the past two years.  “A series of events conspired to create a perfect storm- however, out of those challenges, we have emerged with a greater focus, more energised and a clearer purpose. I want to pay tribute to the dedication, commitment and tenacity of my predecessor Jackie Hendley and our interim CEO Mary Daunt who undertook a thorough review of our organisation and in doing so has made us a leaner, fitter and more relevant for the business environment of the 21st century.” 

Moving his speech to address his key themes for his year in office Gary commented; “Birmingham has the most impressive business networks of any city but we have not always effectively and coherently promoted our messages and this will be a major objective for me- to ensure that we collaborate and speak together on the key issues facing us.”

Gary went on to reflect that the seismic changes in the business environment caused by the global economic crisis and the potential changes to local governance, the Localism Bill, the advent of LEP’s  meant that a strong voice representing the financial and professional services was even more important in today’s world and Birmingham Forward would be providing that strong voice. 

Moving to a core theme of promoting the myriad of inward investment opportunities for the city, Gary told the audience: “I pledge today that Birmingham Forward will be, often in partnership with other business organisations and agencies, a strong advocate, ambassador and supporter of the city and in the vital aim of spreading the word that Birmingham is open for business. We will work as hard as we can to ensure that we communicate the message about the benefits of investing in this city and the wider region.”

In his speech, Gary also reflected on the importance of the close relationship between Forward and Birmingham Future. Gary talked about how both organisations not only shared the same values, resources but the same aims. Forward & Future Gary said “will work very closely together, but it will be equally important to respect and allow each others separate identities to be maintained and flourish.”     

Concluding with his final theme on finding a better way to develop, nurture and support skills for young people Gary commented; “There is no easy answer or magic bullet to this issue. Many firms work hard to tackle the challenges of skills and ensuring we have a workforce that can effectively support the business community. But it is piecemeal and fragmented and we need to do more collectively. It is time to raise the bar on this issue. Birmingham Forward is going to take the a lead by using our experience, influence and knowledge to find effective routes to support the growing number of people who feel they have no hope of employment and the emerging talent that needs igniting and nurturing.”

The guests at the event also heard from Mark Barrow who, in a wide ranging presentation provided an update on the LEP and how the city was developing to respond to the changes in the global economy. Mark talked about the City and LEP’s strategy to make Birmingham a digital city with plans to make Birmingham the UK’s leading smart city with wide ranging 4G and broadband connectivity. Mark outlined the LEP’s plan to use tax and other fundraising initiatives to create jobs, develop hubs for emerging markets and provide an environment for the supply chain of key manufacturing sectors to re locate and flourish within the Greater Birmingham region.

Pictured: Gary Cardin, Chair of Birmingham Forward.

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