The economy of York and North Yorkshire will grow back and be better as it recovers from Covid-19, says a business leader.

Sue Jefferson has been appointed chair of the business board at York & North Yorkshire Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP), the business-led partnership which secures investment for projects that will make a difference to the economy.

Sue has 30 years of experience in UK director and global leadership roles, including Danone Group and McCain Foods. Outside of the LEP, she uses her expertise in non-executive director roles and developing leadership teams so organisations thrive through competitive outperformance.

"The board has identified current and emerging issues at the heart of all types of business, helping to shape then monitor the effective support offered through the York & North Yorkshire Growth Hub," said Sue.

"There’s a huge range of support on offer, including peer-to-peer networks, planning for scale-ups and guidance relating to innovation, reducing carbon and opening up online or export markets.

“Alongside the increasing Growth Hub offer, the Board is overseeing new work to attract inward investment and develop internationalisation in the region’s import and export markets.

"We also continue to champion delivery of bold and ambitious initiatives, such as circular economy and carbon abatement schemes, which provide immense business advantage and new skill opportunities for the area.

“Having been involved with the Board since 2018, I’ve valued the breadth of independent, experienced private sector members, bringing a diversity of thinking to our discussions.

"The agility and impact shown during this unprecedented time, the success stories already emerging and the important initiatives now rolling out, makes it an exciting time to chair the Business Board and see the region’s greener, fairer, stronger growth realised.”