News - Midlands
Midlands Power 100 - Shout to the top
It's five years since Insider started its popular Power 100 feature.
During that time inevitably some figures have come and gone from our list as business figures have moved away, moved on or moved up. But a good number have been in the list from the start.
This isn't just us being lazy.
These are individuals like our top two this year - Sir Michael Lyons and Sir Digby Jones - who deserve to be at the top table because of the influence and power they continue to wield among the region's corporate elite. I always wonder whether if the Midlands had 100 - or even 50 - versions of Lyons and Jones, the region would find itself in quite the predicament it does.
By predicament I refer to the continued reality that this region gets a bad deal from central government.
Take the recent decision on where to site a new "super-casino".
This might seem trivial - after all we are only talking about one small development in a big pool.
But that misses the point that the Midlands was almost inevitably overlooked. Such decisions, just like where to site a national stadium, who to award a capital of culture title to, who should get the Olympics or where to widen motorways or redevelop train stations really do matter - as much from a perception point of view as anything.
If people perceive positive things to be happening in a region then they are far more likely to invest in it.
The common thread to most, if not all, of these points is the proximity of this region to London, and the lack of a coherent identity for the Midlands.
As London grows ever larger and more significant to the rest of the world the perception that Birmingham or Nottingham are simply outer peripheries of a greater London becomes ever more acute and damaging.
What is to be done? Well, bringing our list of key movers and shakers together in a more coherent and organised fashion to lobby for investment and shout louder about the positives of this region is an obvious starting point.
Such efforts are underway - for instance regional development agency Advantage West Midlands recently launched its West Midlands Ambassadors group, led by Digby Jones, with the aim of harnessing the influence of some of the region's most respected individuals to lobby and promote the region as a world-class location to "invest, work, learn, visit and live in".
Let's hope such forums as the Ambassadors can begin to make a difference in the very near future.
It's long overdue.
*As usual the criteria for entries in our list is that the individuals have influence over the economic, political and cultural life of the region.
To read the rest of this article click here
During that time inevitably some figures have come and gone from our list as business figures have moved away, moved on or moved up. But a good number have been in the list from the start.
This isn't just us being lazy.
These are individuals like our top two this year - Sir Michael Lyons and Sir Digby Jones - who deserve to be at the top table because of the influence and power they continue to wield among the region's corporate elite. I always wonder whether if the Midlands had 100 - or even 50 - versions of Lyons and Jones, the region would find itself in quite the predicament it does.
By predicament I refer to the continued reality that this region gets a bad deal from central government.
Take the recent decision on where to site a new "super-casino".
This might seem trivial - after all we are only talking about one small development in a big pool.
But that misses the point that the Midlands was almost inevitably overlooked. Such decisions, just like where to site a national stadium, who to award a capital of culture title to, who should get the Olympics or where to widen motorways or redevelop train stations really do matter - as much from a perception point of view as anything.
If people perceive positive things to be happening in a region then they are far more likely to invest in it.
The common thread to most, if not all, of these points is the proximity of this region to London, and the lack of a coherent identity for the Midlands.
As London grows ever larger and more significant to the rest of the world the perception that Birmingham or Nottingham are simply outer peripheries of a greater London becomes ever more acute and damaging.
What is to be done? Well, bringing our list of key movers and shakers together in a more coherent and organised fashion to lobby for investment and shout louder about the positives of this region is an obvious starting point.
Such efforts are underway - for instance regional development agency Advantage West Midlands recently launched its West Midlands Ambassadors group, led by Digby Jones, with the aim of harnessing the influence of some of the region's most respected individuals to lobby and promote the region as a world-class location to "invest, work, learn, visit and live in".
Let's hope such forums as the Ambassadors can begin to make a difference in the very near future.
It's long overdue.
*As usual the criteria for entries in our list is that the individuals have influence over the economic, political and cultural life of the region.
To read the rest of this article click here