Jack Stopforth
Jack Stopforth
Chief Executive Officer
ceo@liverpoolchamber.org.uk
Jack joined the Chamber as Chief Executive in March 2005. Before that he was managing director of the Cumbria Inward Investment Agency for eight years. He was born in Liverpool and spent his early career as a development economist in London. He returned to work in Merseyside between 1978 and 1997, first as Chief Economic Adviser to Merseyside County Council and latterly (1986 to 1997) as owner manager of two public affairs, public relations and advertising companies.
Jack believes that the Chamber should not just represent business but, where appropriate, set the policy agenda in discussion with employers, key public agencies and government. This has been increasingly important since the end of European Objective One funding in 2006. The pump-priming undertaken by the public agencies has helped improve Liverpool's physical infrastructure and stimulate its economy. This is especially true in construction and property development, but also in the growth of the service sector and high technology sectors including bio-pharmaceuticals, automotive manufacture and supply and electronics. However, the onus is on the business community to sustain local economic growth through private enterprise. The Chamber's role as the primary conduit for businesses to benefit from economic change will be ever more vital.
More fundamentally, Chamber members have a right to expect us to be responsive to the issues they as companies feel are important. They have the right to expect a professional, value added service and they require their Chamber to be dynamic and well managed. In these respects, the agendas of the Chamber and its membership are absolutely synchronised.
