I’m going to back this great county (From Worcester News)

I’m going to back this great county

1:30pm Monday 8th February 2010 in

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THE new chairman of Advantage West Midlands Enterprise Board has said he will help Worcestershire become more enterprising by focusing on its strengths.

David Rowe, chief executive of the University of Warwick Science Park, has taken over the reins from industrialist Norman Price.

He will provide leadership and innovative thinking to tackle the West Midlands £15 billion output gap.

The qualified electronics engineer wants to strengthen public and private sector partnerships, harness commercial relationships between academia and business and develop a strategy that will support both traditional sectors and new industries.

“This is an important time for the Enterprise Board with potential cuts in public spending meaning that we have to work even smarter to deliver maximum impact to the region’s entrepreneurs and established businesses,” he said.

“It’s a major challenge but one that I’m relishing as I know that we have the right people on the board to make a difference. I’m tired of people focusing on what Worcestershire hasn’t got and a lot of our time will be focused on promoting all the good things about our region.

“We’re just below the UK average when it comes to number of start-ups, but getting more companies to launch is not necessarily the solution to the problem. I’d prefer to look at the situation differently and increase the chances of new starts.”