Business Minister appoints 2 new non-executive directors to Capital for Enterprise Limited
Business Minister Michael Fallon has announced the appointment of Heleen Kist and Jack Perry as non-executive directors to CfEL.
Business Minister Michael Fallon has today (15 January 2013) announced the appointment of Heleen Kist and Jack Perry as non-executive directors to Capital for Enterprise Limited (CfEL).
CfEL is the government’s investment company and is a centre of expertise that manages the government’s investment programmes in small and medium enterprises (SMEs) across the UK.
Heleen Kist is an expert on SME access to finance issues and brings valuable experience gained in strategy consulting and in supporting innovative SMEs. Jack Perry joins the Board as an expert on financing enterprise following a number of years at Ernst & Young and Scottish Enterprise.
Business and Enterprise Minister Michael Fallon said:
It’s vital the government has in place the best business expertise to help us deliver crucial support for small businesses and helping firms access innovative investment schemes. Capital for Enterprise Ltd leads the government’s work in delivering a diverse range of finance options for SMEs, and the appointment of Heleen Kist and Jack Perry confirms that we are committed to helping small businesses realise their growth potential.
It has also been confirmed that John Spence’s appointment to the board has been extended by a year, and that Alison Loudon stepped down as a non-executive director at the end of her second term of appointment on 31 December 2012. Both BIS and Capital for Enterprise are grateful for her work and commitment since 2005.
Notes to editors
1) Remuneration for non-executive directors has been set at £17,500 per annum with an additional payment of £1,000 per annum for members who sit on the Audit Committee.
2) Biographies:
Dr Jack Perry CBE DL, brings his leadership and Non-Executive Director experience to the Board of CfEL. Formerly Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise and a ‘Big 4’ client service partner to businesses on a global level, Jack is highly experienced in corporate governance as chairman, director and professional adviser. Jack was responsible for the substantial growth of the Scottish Co-Investment Fund and oversaw the creation of both the Scottish Seed Fund and the Scottish Venture Fund.
Heleen Kist joins the Board with a successful career in strategy consulting. Previously at McKinsey, Heleen is a member of the Access to Finance Expert Group at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Chair of Scottish Innovations Ltd, the organisation set up to commercialise innovation from the Scottish NHS. Heleen holds a Masters degree in Management Science and Engineering from Stanford University.
John Spence OBE: John spent his executive career in retail banking. Senior appointments have included Head of Business Banking at Lloyds Bank, Managing Director of Business Banking at Lloyds TSB, Chief Executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland and most recently Director of Policy Co-ordination and Risk. John currently chairs the South East Local Enterprise Partnership and the Spicer Haart estate agency. He is Deputy Lord Lieutenant of the County of Essex, a governor of Anglia Ruskin University, chairman of the Chelmsford Diocesan Board of Finance and was formerly chairman of Harlow Renaissance Limited.
3) Capital for Enterprise Limited is a professional asset management company. It is also the UK government’s centre of knowledge, expertise and information on the design, implementation and management of finance measures to support SMEs across the UK. www.capitalforenterprise.gov.uk
4) The government’s economic policy objective is to achieve ‘strong, sustainable and balanced growth that is more evenly shared across the country and between industries’. It set 4 ambitions in the ‘Plan for Growth’ (PDF 1.7MB), published at Budget 2011: * to create the most competitive tax system in the G20 * to make the UK the best place in Europe to start, finance and grow a business * to encourage investment and exports as a route to a more balanced economy * to create a more educated workforce that is the most flexible in Europe
5) Work is underway across government to achieve these ambitions, including progress on more than 250 measures as part of the Growth Review. Developing an Industrial Strategy gives new impetus to this work by providing businesses, investors and the public with more clarity about the long-term direction in which the government wants the economy to travel.