Most Influential List 2018: The movers and shakers from A to B

Most Influential 2018: A-B

1. CHRISTOPHER AKERS-BELCHER; Leader, Hartlepool Borough Council

   Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council since 2013, he has more than 23 years’ senior local government experience working in finance, revenues and benefits. He is presently working with officers on a master planning exercise to regenerate the centre and coastal area of Hartlepool, and has a number of roles both within and outside the council, including chair of the Finance and Policy Committee, Safer Hartlepool Partnership – Community Safety, and Health and Wellbeing Board. Coun Akers-Belcher is also on the leaders and elected mayors’ group of the Association of North East Councils, the Tees Valley Combined Authority Board, and the Local Government Association.

2. GILL ALEXANDER; Chief Executive, Hartlepool Borough Council

   Appointed chief executive in 2015. Following an early career in both higher and further education, Ms Alexander worked in the national and international voluntary sector for 10 years developing education and skills programmes aimed at tackling child and family poverty. Over the last 20 or so years she has been a senior leader in local government in the North East having served as a director of education, children’s services and child and adult services. In June 2017 she was ordained and now also works as a curate in Tynedale.

3. MAURICIO ARMELLINI; North East agent, Bank of England, Newcastle

   Mr Armellini has been a member of the Government Economic Service since 2008, when he joined the Department for Work and Pensions to lead teams of analysts in areas of key ministerial attention, such as skills and pensions. In 2013 he went on secondment to the North East LEP where he worked as a chief economist until his appointment as the Bank of England’s agent for the North East in September 2014. He has also taught economics at undergraduate and postgraduate level at Durham University, where he undertook his PhD studies in economics.

4. LUCY ARMSTRONG; Chief executive, The Alchemists, Newcastle, and Chair, The Port of Tyne

   Appointed chair of the Port of Tyne in July 2017, Ms Armstrong combines the role with her work as chief executive of The Alchemists, a North East-based consultancy she joined in 2003 which helps businesses increase their development and success. She is also chair of trustees at TDI – a national charity that tackles sexual offending – as well as the steering group of the Enterprise Research Centre, and the Professional Standards Council of the Asset Based Finance Association.

5. MIKE ASHLEY; Owner, Newcastle United, London

   The prominent businessman and founder of Sports Direct, bought Sir John Hall’s 43% stake in Newcastle United for around £55m in May 2007, and later acquired the rest of the club for a reported £134m. He has twice put the Premier League side up for sale – last time for a reported £400m - but on both occasions no deal has been struck. Mr Ashley has recently seen pre-tax profits in his Sports Direct empire fall, but despite this, he still tops the North East Sunday Times Rich List with a reported personal fortune of £2.437bn.

6. KENNY ATKINSON; Chef/proprietor, House of Tides, Newcastle

   House of Tides is Newcastle’s only Michelin-starred restaurant, an accolade that came Atkinson’s way just 20 months after opening. Having previously worked on the Scilly Isles and then back in his native North East at Seaham Hall in County Durham, Mr Atkinson was born and raised in Newcastle and worked his way up from running market stalls to being one of the UK’s top food exponents. He has twice represented the North on the BBC’s Great British Menu and is a former winner of the prestigious Catey Awards Chef of the Year.

7. STEVE BAGSHAW; Chief executive, Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies, Billingham

   The current North East Business Executive of the Year, Mr Bagshaw received his prestigious award for leading Fujifilm Diosynth Biotechnologies to new heights, which in autumn 2017 saw the opening of dedicated state-of-the-art cell culture process development laboratories in the Wilton Centre. He has more than 30 years’ experience with this company and its predecessors. Among other roles, he is chair of the UK’s Industrial Biotechnology Leadership Forum, and is currently co-chairing the UK Bioeconomy Strategy Programme Board.

8. DAME VERA BAIRD; Police and Crime Commissioner, Northumbria Police, Office: North Tyneside

   Her job is to ensure Northumbria Police delivers for the residents of the communities it serves. Highlights since being appointed include the introduction of Vulnerability Training, developing the first regional strategy to tackle violence against women and girls, the adoption of the living wage for all PCC and Northumbria Police staff, and the implementation of a complaints triage team. Previously the Labour MP for Redcar, Dame Vera served as Solicitor General between 2007-2010, and was instrumental in the establishment of the Stern Report about how rape cases are handled by public authorities.

9. WILLIAM BAKER BAKER; Head of Office, Brewin Dolphin, Newcastle

   A British Army veteran having served with the 13th/18th Royal Hussars in Northern Ireland, Cyprus, Canada, Germany and the UK, Mr Baker Baker joined Wise Speke in 1987 - which became part of Brewin Dolphin in 1998 - training in the Newcastle office before moving to Teesside in 1989. A chartered fellow of the Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, he heads up a team of 300 and manages portfolios for private clients, trusts and charities. In June 2013 he moved to the Newcastle office and in October of that year assumed the position of Head of Office.

10. GORDON BANHAM; Group chief executive, Hargreaves Services PLC, Durham

    Mr Banham was 19 when he took on the running of the family coal firm. Under his guidance, F Banham Ltd grew and he negotiated its sale to Charrington Fuels in 1994. He was appointed general manager of the combined businesses. He joined Hargreaves Services plc in 2001 and was subsequently appointed group chief executive. Hargreaves is now the UK’s leading coal production, trading and distribution company with operations across thermal power, steel making, ports and logistics.

11. HARRY BANKS; Founder, Chairman and chief executive, Banks Group, Durham

    Mr Banks leads the family business which was founded in Tow Law in 1976, and has since operated and restored more than 110 surface mines and currently employs around 400 people across the North East and Scotland. The group added property development businesses to its mining activities in the 1980s. The development and operation of onshore wind farms was a further addition in 2005. Latest figures show the business made a group profit before tax of £14m across its three divisions.

12. JAMES BARKER; Managing director, Barker and Stonehouse, Teesside

    The third generation of his family to take the helm of the furniture retail group, which is now acknowledged as the UK’s leading independent retailer for quality furniture designs from around the world. Mr Barker’s retailing career began with his first job at New York department store Macy’s, before returning to the UK to join Saatchi & Saatchi’s media buying arm. He joined Barker and Stonehouse as marketing director in 1991. The company now has 13 stores across England, including two outlet shops, and a rapidly growing ecommerce site.

13. DAME MARGARET BARBOUR; Chairman, J Barbour and Sons Ltd, South Shields

    Dame Margaret has turned the family business into a renowned global brand selling in over 40 countries. Fans include the Royal Family, and even James Bond, who wore one of the jackets in Skyfall. Barbour posted turnover of £184.3m in 2017 with a profit of £29.3m. In 1988 Dame Margaret set-up the Barbour Foundation, which to date has made more than £13.1m in grants, mainly to North East charities and projects. She is also behind the Women’s Fund, run under the auspices of the Community Foundation to support organisations delivering benefit and social well-being to women in Tyne and Wear and Northumberland.

14. MICHAEL BARTON; Chief Constable, Durham Constabulary, Durham

    Appointed Chief Constable in February 2013, he moved to Durham in 2008 as assistant chief constable. Thanks to his tough stance on tackling organised crime, Durham is now recognised as a leading force in dealing with the problem. A leading figure nationally who is involved with a number of influential groups, including as head of the Crime Operations Committee of the National Police Chiefs’ Council, Chief Constable Barton’s contract has been extended to February 2021.

15. ARNAB BASU; Chief executive, Kromek Group PLC, Sedgefield

    Mr Basu has grown radiation detection company Kromek from a spin-out of Durham University to a global business which reported a 32% revenue increase to the end of April as a result of increased commercial activities. A prominent figure in the business community, he received an MBE for services to regional development and international trade in 2014. He has a PhD in Physics from Durham and is the author of more than 25 technical publications. He is also a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts and the Institute of Physics and chair of the Academic Health Science Network for the North East and Cumbria.

16. JIM BEIRNE; Chief executive and chairman, Live Theatre, Newcastle

    A trained composer and musician, Mr Beirne has been chief executive of Live Theatre since 2000. One of the UK’s leading new writing theatres, several of its plays have appeared in London and on Broadway. Live Theatre’s social enterprises include gastro pub The Broad Chare, online playwriting courses, a hub for creative businesses, The Schoolhouse, and Live Works, a performance and commercial office space. Mr Beirne has also recently taken on the chairmanship of the new Newcastle Parks Trust and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters from Northumbria University in 2011 and an MBE in 2012.

17. SIR DAVID BELL; Vice-chancellor, Sunderland University

    The new vice-chancellor takes up his post this autumn, joining from the University of Reading. Originally from Glasgow, Sir David’s early career was in teaching. He was appointed director of education and libraries at Newcastle City Council in 1995 and became Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Schools in 2002 and then permanent secretary at the Department of Education between 2006-2012. He is committed to building on Sunderland University’s role as an anchor academic institution in the region delivering excellence in teaching and research.

18. STEPHEN BELL; Group Chief Executive, Changing Lives, Gateshead

    Changing Lives provides specialist support to 21,000 vulnerable people and their families every year. Mr Bell has seen the organisation’s remit widen beyond Tyneside, and Changing Lives is now acknowledged as a national leader specialising in homelessness, addiction and a range of other problems. Mr Bell has sat on a Government Select Committee investigating homelessness and related issues, and has been conferred the prestigious Sieff Award in recognition of his success in encouraging local businesses to work with the region’s communities.

19. DEAN BENSON; Chief executive, Visualsoft, Teesside

    Involved in a number of tech firms, his main focus is at Visualsoft, a full-service digital agency and ecommerce platform dealing in award-winning website design, innovative feature development and tailored online marketing services to over 1,200 existing clients. A lover of innovation, entrepreneurship, and pushing the boundaries of what people think is possible, Mr Benson enjoys relaunching poorly implemented business ideas into award-winning market leading solutions.

20. PHILIP BERNAYS; Chief executive, Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust, Newcastle

    Appointed to the top job at Newcastle’s historic Theatre Royal at the end of 2005, during that time he has overseen its £7m refurbishment and £5m restoration. Newcastle Theatre Royal Trust also now looks after the management of the City Hall. Audience numbers continue to flourish, with both venues attracting nearly 500,000 customers through their doors. The not-for-profit trust’s turnover currently stands at £16m, injecting £5.2m into the region’s economy and supporting 121 jobs. Mr Bernays is also a member of the board of directors of UK Theatre.

21. DR ROBERTA BLACKMAN-WOODS; Labour MP for Durham City

    The Labour MP for Durham CIty since 2005, in January 2018 she was appointed Shadow Minister for Housing, Communities and Local Government. A former university professor in social policy and local councillor, her interests in Parliament are education, international development, housing, planning, and regeneration. Past Parliamentary posts include Shadow Minister for International Development and Shadow Minister for Housing, and she has served on a number of select committees, the most recent being Science and Technology.

22. PAUL BLAKE; Owner, Newcastle Eagles, Newcastle

    With a background rooted in sports marketing, management and video analysis, Mr Blake has helped elevate basketball in the North East and Newcastle Eagles has emerged as the most successful club of its kind in Britain. The Eagles’ future legacy looks certain with work on a new purpose built 2,800 seater stadium underway in Elswick. Mr Blake is currently chairman of the Eagles Community Foundation, the club’s charitable arm working with over 20,000 young people every year in the North East.

23. PAUL BOOTH; Chair, Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership

    Born on Teesside, he started his career as an apprentice with ICI 40 years ago, and retired in 2016 as chairman of Sabic UK Petrochemicals. He is currently chair of Tees Valley Local Enterprise Partnership and is also on the board of the South Tees Development Corporation, one of the industrialists on the UK CGP (Chemistry Growth Partnership), and an ex-chairman of the North East Process Industry Cluster. He has had a longinterest in the training and development of people and holds a number of non-executive positions, including sitting on Teesside University’s board of governors.

24. LIEUTENANT GENERAL ROBIN BRIMS; Chair, Reserve Forces and Cadet Associations, Durham

    The retired British Army officer served in Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Iraq, and was Commander of the Field Army at Land Command between 2005-2007. He now chairs the North of England branch of the RFCA, one of 13 associations covering the UK which are funded through the Ministry of Defence and are responsible for managing the property and facilities for the Reserve Forces and air and army cadets, as well as supporting both the recruiting of army reserves and reservist employers. He is also a Deputy Lieutenant of Tyne and Wear.

25. DAVID BROWN; Managing director, Arriva Rail North Ltd

    With more than 25 years’ experience in both the public and private sectors, Mr Brown’s last role before taking up his Arriva post in September 2017, was chief executive at Transport for the North, where he led on delivery of the Northern Strategic Transport Plan. At Arriva – which also runs Northern – Mr Brown has been charged with delivering on the ambitious plans to modernise rail travel for customers across the North of England.

26. NICK BROWN; Labour MP for Newcastle East

    Holding his seat in the June 2017 election with an increased majority, Mr Brown has been reappointed as Opposition Chief Whip and also currently serves on the Public Accounts Commission select committee. First elected to Parliament in 1983, he has served among others as Minister for Work at the Department for Work and Pensions, Minister for Agriculture, Minister of State for the North East, and Treasurer of HM Household. He has served on the Speaker’s Committee for the Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority, Commons Liaison and Finance Committees, the Public Accounts and House of Commons Commissions, and Members Estimate.

27. DAVID BUDD; Mayor, Middlesbrough Council, Middlesbrough

    Mr Budd worked as a local bank manager for many years before being elected as a councillor in 1991. He has represented Middlesbrough regionally and nationally, fighting to make the town’s voice heard. He has been leading the task of transforming and regenerating Middlesbrough, and has helped to deliver some of the area’s most iconic spaces, such as mima and Centre Square. He is a chair of the Tees Valley Combined Authority and on the board of the new South Tees Development Corporation.

28. SIR JOHN BURN; Professor of Clinical Genetics, Newcastle University and Chair of Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

    Knighted in 2010 for his services to medicine and healthcare, Professor Burn helped establish the Centre for Life in Newcastle, which, in addition to housing the region’s fertility and genetics services, also attracts 250,000 paying visitors each year to its science centre and provides practical education for 40,000 children. Prof Burn pioneered the genetic testing for inherited forms of cancer in the UK, is on numerous national and international committees, has filled a number of Government advisory roles and was appointed chair of the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Hospitals NHS Trusts in November 2017.

29. THE RIGHT REVEREND PAUL BUTLER; Bishop of Durham, Durham

    Installed as Bishop of Durham in February 2014, he is the fourth most senior cleric in the Church of England, a position which carries an automatic seat in the House of Lords. He is passionate about being part of the ‘world church’ and also has a keen interest in the development and welfare of young people. He is the lead Bishop in the House of Lords on welfare as well as chairing several committees, including Brighter Bishop Auckland. A published author, he is an avid social media user with his own Facebook page, Twitter feed and blog.

30. KEVIN BYRNE; Managing director, Seymour Civil Engineering, Hartlepool

    Mr Byrne joined Seymour in 1989 when he landed the job of running the firm’s estimating department. A decade ago he became a director and was appointed to his present role in 2012. Seymour is recognised as one of the leading civil engineering businesses specialising in drainage, urban renewal projects, development, restoration work, and sea defences. The company employs around 230 staff, and recent successfully completed jobs include an exhibition development at Beamish and the regeneration of Church Street and Church Square in Hartlepool.