Alex, from Buckinghamshire, is an entrepreneur who runs seriousreaders.com, which manufactures high-grade reading lights. On secondment to the Government, he created and led the former Department for Trade and Industry's (DTI) International Innovation team, and acted as a catalyst for key innovations such as the national brokerage model for business support and re-branding Britain.

He has been chairman of the DTI Business Link National Assessment Panel and of the business link in Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire and Bucks. He was awarded an OBE for services to business and education in the Queen's Birthday Honours List 2006.

Pamela brings the voluntary and community sector perspective to the SEEDA Board. She established the Connexions service in Hampshire and Isle of Wight; providing information, advice, guidance and support to young people, and ‘connecting’ services for young people across the statutory and voluntary sectors. Pam has a strong commitment to matching skills to the need of employers, particularly through the development of apprenticeships and other training  rogrammes, and is a member of the South East Regional Learning and Skills Council. Her previous career was in health service management.

Pam is vice chair of the Hampshire Partnership NHS Trust, which provides mental health and learning disability services to adults and young people. Pam is also a governor of  Treloar College, a national specialist college for young people with a disability.

George has had a close involvement in local affairs since 1985 at a parish and district level. He was first elected to Winchester City Council in 1992 and was elected council leader and chairman of the executive cabinet in May 2006. He has spent his working life as an employer in a small business environment in a wide variety of areas, but mainly, since 1976, establishing, developing and managing the Production Nursery and Garden Centre at Compton.

George’s interest in business growth has led to a close involvement with business and employment matters in the political environment, and as well as being leader of the council he holds the portfolio for economic development and tourism.

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Mike has lived in the Wycombe area for 30 years and has been a member of Buckinghamshire County Council for 16 years. Since 1999, he has also been a Conservative member of Wycombe District Council. He is involved with a number of organisations including Wye Valley School, Bourne End junior sports clubs and Bourne End Community Association and before politics, Mike worked at Lucas Industries for 32 years.

Kevin served as a Tunbridge Wells Borough Councillor for two years, before being elected to Kent County Council in 2001. He has been in the county cabinet since 2002, having had responsibility for resources and being cabinet member for Adult Social Services before becoming the cabinet member for Regeneration and Economic Development in 2008. Kevin is now responsible for major regeneration and renewal projects, ports, airports and strategic planning issues.

He has regularly been called upon by the LGA, IDeA , Audit Commission, South East and South West Employers, Leadership Centre for Local Government and others, to carry out training, monitoring and inspection work at local authorities throughout England.

Kevin represents KCC at the Executive of the County Councils Network. He sits on the LGA’s Personnel Committee of Local Government Employers, and was selected as a member of the “Gang of Four” – the four elected members representing the employers’ side of the national local government pay negotiations. He currently sits on the LGA’s Regeneration and Transport Board.

Ian is GOSE's Deputy Regional Director, Strategy & Business Improvement. He joined GOSE on 31 May 2006 from the Department for Education and Skills (now DCSF). Prior to joining DfES in November 2004, Ian worked in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit, where he led work on agendas as diverse as the regulation of electronic networks; improving the life chances of disabled people; and the costs and benefits of genetically modified crops. Ian's background is as a Government Economist.

Ian's primary role in GOSE is to work with partners to help create the conditions for businesses to grow and for individuals to improve their skills and employment prospects. To this end, Ian leads work on responding to the recession and preparing for recovery; on the new regional strategy; and on the strategic direction of European programmes. Ian also has responsibility within GOSE for corporate planning, communications and analysis.

Ian Christie is an independent advisor, researcher, writer and lecturer on sustainable development and environmental issues. He is an associate of the think-tank Green Alliance and is a visiting professor at the University of Surrey's Centre for Environmental Strategy.

Previous posts include joint head of Environment, Waste Strategy and Economic Development service at Surrey County Council, deputy director of the think-tank Demos, associate director of the Henley Centre for Forecasting, and research fellow at the Policy Studies Institute.

Ian's early career was in the IT industry, working as a programmer, technical author and service manager. He lives in South West London and is a trustee or advisor to a number of charities.

Tony Allen is Skills Director (South East) for the Skills Funding Agency. 

Prior to the creation of the Agency in April 2010, Tony held a number of appointments with the Learning and Skills Council. These included, Area Director for Kent and Medway, and also Train to Gain Director for the South East Region. Tony joined the LSC in 2002.

At the LSC, Tony was actively involved in employer and skills work. He lead the very successful Employer Training Pilot in Kent & Medway, and in addition to his local responsibilities, was jointly responsible for the implementation of regional skills initiatives such as the Action for Business Colleges programme. 

Throughout 2007, he was seconded to Skills South East, the regional skills brokerage organisation, as Chief Executive, in order to improve the performance of the organisation.

Prior to joining the LSC, Tony spent 25 years in the Hospitality and Catering industry. This included 17 years with Whitbread PLC in operational, HR and strategic roles.

Megan Dobney is the Regional Secretary of the Southern and Eastern Regional Council of the Trades Union Congress (SERTUC). SERTUC represents TUC affiliated trade unions in London, the South East and the East of England. SERTUC directly represents the interests of those unions’ two million members who live and work in this region. 

Megan is a Board member of the London Development Agency, a non-executive director of Greater London Enterprise, a member of the East of England Development Agency’s Strategy Committee and of its Equality Advisory Group, a member of the Steering Group of the East of England Employment Relations Forum, a member of the South East of England Development Agency’s Economic Development & Skills Board, and of SEEDA’s Social Dialogue Forum steering group.

She is Vice President of the EuresChannel Inter-Regional TUC (comprising Hainault, West Flanders, Nord-Pas de Calais and SE England)

Mark Pearson has a background spanning both public and private sectors and has been involved in economic development at delivery and strategic levels for over 16 years, both in the North West and South East of England. Mark has worked for sub-regional economic partnerships for six years, and is currently the chief executive of Surrey Economic Partnership.

He is a member of the Institution of Economic Development, a fellow of the Chartered Management Institute, and a fellow of the RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures & Commerce), and a member of the Federation of Small Business.

Paul joined the Civil Service as a Direct Entrant Executive Officer in 1976.  Paul moved to London and South East Region on promotion to grade 6 in 1999. In 2002 he became Deputy Director of East of England region.  Paul Williams was appointed to the Senior Civil Service as Customer Services Director for Jobcentre Plus in the South East in January 2007.

Dolores has spent over 25 years working in the hightechnology sector, both in Government and in industry and is currently managing director innovation at QinetiQ, an international defence and technology company.

She is fellow of the Institute of Engineering and Technology and a fellow of the Institute of Physics. She is currently a member of the board of AIRTO (Association of Independent Research and Technology Organisations) and of the Science, Engineering and Technology Advisory Council of SEEDA.

Malcolm joined the CBI in 1998. He has experience in the commercial and residential property sector and manufacturing industries, both in the UK and overseas. 

As the CBI's Regional Director for South East England he is responsible for handling and developing relationships with the largest companies in the UK, recruiting new members to the CBI and regional lobbying. In addition the organisation also delivers a programme of policy and best practice events for CBI members and regional stakeholders.

Responsibilities also extend to overseeing the principal representative CBI body in the region, the Regional Council, which comprises board level individuals of CBI members companies drawn from a cross sector and size of businesses.

Representative interests include board membership of the South East Economic Development and Skills Board; Surrey Economic Partnership; South East Business Forum; Advisory board member of The Marwell Wildlife Trust

David Seall is the Region Director for EEF, the manufacturers’ organisation, representing members in the London, East and the South regions.  EEF is the Regional Centre of Manufacturing Excellence and delivers the BERR Manufacturing Advisory Service in the South East.

David is a materials engineer by profession and joined EEF in 1998 from the Hamble Group in Hampshire, where he was Head of Design and Technology, managing their independent design consultancy. Prior to this David had a successful career in research & development and project management including managing projects for customers such as Boeing, Airbus and Eurofighter. 

David works closely with Regional Development Agencies in the East, London and the South East and is actively involved in committees involving Aerospace and Defence, Business Support, Social Dialogue, Learning and Skills, Overseas Trade and Manufacturing. He is also a founder member of the Farnborough Aerospace Consortium (FAC).  

He is an enthusiastic supporter of the Year in Industry initiative, which enables bright young people to experience life in a technology-based business prior to higher education.  He is a trustee of the Hampshire Technology Centre (INTECH) and was also a visiting lecturer at the Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics at the University of Southampton.

David is a Chartered Engineer and is a Fellow of the Royal Aeronautical Society. He is also a member of the Institute of Materials, Mineralogy & Mining and the Institute of Directors.  David started his career as a graduate apprentice with GEC Marconi.

Jan Edrich is the chief executive of AOSEC, the Association of South East Colleges, and represents the South East’s 59 further education colleges on the Economic Development and Skills Board.

Jan came to AOSEC from a variety of senior management roles within colleges and also spent a short period of her career at the Learning and Skills Council. Special interests include governance, education policy implementation and strategic planning.

Earlier in her career, Jan worked in the telecommunications manufacturing industry in production management and purchasing and supply.

Terry is the CEO of Proskills - the Sector Skills Council (SSC) for the Processing Manufacturing Industries, which he started in 2005. 

In 2009 Terry launched the National Skills Academy for the Proskills Sector, establishing the Proskills Group, and steered the SSC successful through a National Audit Office, re-licensing process. Proskills is well positioned to service the needs of employers the sector having doubled the number of companies it represents since it was first established.

After graduating in Chemistry from Bristol University, Terry joined the IT Industry in 1983. A 14 year career in IBM provided a basis for all round business experience progressing from Internal Computer Operations, through programming, software sales, marketing brand management and business management ultimately reporting to the UK CEO.

To further explore the use of technology in business Terry joined a small management consultancy where, in four years he became Operations Partner and set up the technology division. 

In 2001 Terry was appointed Deputy CEO e-skills NTO to help grow its business. By the time he left in March 2005, e-skills had become an established and highly regarded SSC of 60 people.

Van joined Southampton Institute in Summer 2001 as Vice Principal, Academic and was appointed Senior Vice Principal in September 2003. He became the Deputy Vice-Chancellor in July 2005 when Southampton Institute became Southampton Solent University, and was appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University with effect from 1 August 2007.  

Van is an historian who became Head of Humanities and Communication Studies and Special Policy Advisor on Quality and Standards to the Vice-Chancellor of Sheffield Hallam University. He first moved to Sheffield as a lecturer in modern European political history after research in social history at the University of Warwick. He later developed an interest in quality management, working as a consultant and auditor in the HE sector here and overseas. Van is an experienced auditor for the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA), has worked extensively on audit and degree awarding powers scrutiny and extended this aspect of his work to auditing UK collaborative links in India and South Africa. 

In 2006 he was awarded a national Leadership Foundation Fellowship. He currently leads the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Lifelong Learning Network, a consortium of five local universities, is an executive director of Business Southampton and chair of the Southampton Skills Development Zone, which he helped create.