South East: Thames Valley Berkshire LEP appoints new board members

Thames Valley Berkshire LEP has appointed two new directors to its business-led board, with specific expertise and skills in key sectors for the area.

They are Ute Bockstegers, chief finance officer of Bayer UK & Ireland, a pharmaceutical and life sciences company, and David Parry-Jones, vice president and general manager of VMware, a global leader in cloud infrastructure and business mobility.

Peter Read, chair of Thames Valley Berkshire LEP, said: “I’m delighted to welcome Ute and David to the executive board.  The LEP continues to move from strength to strength and our ambition is increasingly being met by delivery. The appointment of these two high-calibre business people comes at a crucial time, with an increasing focus on economic sub regions and the importance of private-sector engagement and leadership in driving forward local economies.”

In appointing new executive board members, the LEP has considered the key skills needed over the coming years in delivering on its Growth Deal commitments and championing the LEP’s sector propositions.

Read added: “Through David we will be strengthening our digital technologies knowledge and capacity within a sector which is constantly evolving, and with Ute our relationship with the life sciences and healthcare sector as well as with national business organisations such as the CBI.”

Bockstegers and Parry-Jones join an executive board led by the private sector and responsible for charting a sustainable economic future for Thames Valley Berkshire, alongside advocates for the area from local government, education and the community sector.