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From New York to New Delhi North Yorkshire’s Business Ambassadors Start Spreading the News!
The benefits of doing business in North Yorkshire has been talked about in cities across the world from New York to New Delhi, following the successful launch of the North Yorkshire Ambassadors’ initiative in April this year. Organised by york-england.com, the Inward Investment Board for York and North Yorkshire, the initiative has recruited many of the region’s most senior company chiefs to help spread the word about the commercial advantages of being based in York and North Yorkshire.
On 15th November, 60 of the most prominent business names in York and North Yorkshire converged on Hazelwood Castle to meet again for the second ever North Yorkshire Ambassadors’ Dinner. The evening, which was sponsored by First TransPennine Express, began with a champagne reception, during which guests from a range of influential organisations across the region including Johnson & Johnson, Norwich Union and Morrisons, discussed progress and compared strategies for promoting the area. Dinner was followed by a keynote speech by Tom Pindar, OBE lifetime President of the Pindar Group based in Scarborough.
Tom Pindar said “The most powerful messages are positive personal recommendations. The North Yorkshire Ambassadors know what they are talking about. When they pass on literature and talk about North Yorkshire, people sit up and listen. I am confident the initiative will have an important effect in encouraging inward investment and encouraging growth and prosperity for our fantastic county.”
Vernon Barker, Managing Director of First TransPennine Express said; “It is fantastic to be able to support this event to help promote North Yorkshire as a first class place to live, work and do business.
“Demand for travel across the region for employment and business is growing at a fantastic rate and rail travel is proving increasingly popular for commuters and businesses, helping to keep the local economy on the move. York and North Yorkshire are proving to be great places to work and thriving areas for business, with good links, easy access and significant investment in new modern and reliable trains.
“It is events like the Ambassadors dinner which give people the opportunity to identify why North Yorkshire is good for business and to help promote its advantages across the world.”
Denise Stuart, Chief Executive of york-england.com, said: “Tonight has been another resounding success and a great chance for our Business Ambassadors to meet and discuss how best to help spread the word about the commercial advantages of being based in North Yorkshire. The Ambassadors, who include some of the most influential business leaders in North Yorkshire, have taken to their new role with great enthusiasm and passion which has already started to produce results. We have even received calls from former York residents living in the USA that have heard about the initiative and want to become overseas Ambassadors for us. I am confident this initiative will continue to go from strength to strength and will play a key role in our continued drive to spread the word both across the UK and internationally about North Yorkshire’s thriving business community and our outstanding track record on profitability and quality of life.”
Over the last decade, inward investment has been instrumental in attracting 148 companies to the region, directly creating nearly 4,000 jobs. In the last three years alone, since york-england.com expanded its remit from York to the whole of North Yorkshire, it has attracted 79 companies to the area, directly creating 1010 jobs
Examples of North Yorkshire Ambassadors at Work
Andrew Lindsay, Denison Till
Andrew Lindsay, head of Practice Development and a corporate partner at Denison Till, commercial solicitors in York, is also head of the Mergers and Acquisitions practice group of Geneva Group International (‘GGI’), one of the global top 10 networks of legal, accounting, consulting and private banking firms. GGI has over 200 firms in membership internationally, and, as part of a forthcoming meeting in New Delhi, India, between 21st to 30th November, Andrew Lindsay will be working to actively promote York and North Yorkshire as a business location with colleagues from GGI and prospective clients.
Andrew Lindsay said: “I am delighted to wave the flag for our region and to support york-england.com in their work to help put York and North Yorkshire more firmly on the map. It is important to raise the profile of this region, not just as an inward investment location for other UK businesses, but also from an international perspective. One of the things that is so good about being an ambassador for york-england.com, is that I am helping my firm at the same time as the region, so it’s a win-win situation,” said Andrew Lindsay.
Dr Eileen McMorrow,YorSolicitor
Dr Eileen McMorrow, the Sole Principal of YorSolicitor, met with a very positive response when she outlined the benefits of York and North Yorkshire at the recent International Bar Association Conference in Singapore. Eileen attended this meeting as part of a Law Society and United Kingdom Trade and Investment (UKTI) mission. There was significant interest from law firms in Singapore where the bioscience and IT & digital industries are strong growth areas with opportunities for partnering between the UK and Singapore. Dr McMorrow also highlighted the success of North Yorkshire’s vibrant and dynamic bioscience cluster with delegates at the Bio International Convention 2007 in Boston, USA held in May this year.
Dr Eileen Morrow said: “People are genuinely interested in finding out about the commercial advantages of locating their business in York and North Yorkshire. There is no substitute for meeting people face to face and exploring opportunities for collaboration between companies based in this region and those in similar industries overseas.”
