CBI South West Council meeting hosted by The Maynard School

Business leaders and executives from across the region were brought together in March when The Maynard School, Exeter, hosted the CBI South West Council meeting.

The CBI council forms an essential role in engaging with the business community to identify, develop and debate key policies and initiatives to encourage business growth and economic development.

The CBI is the UK’s premier business lobbying organisation, providing a voice for employers at a national and international level. It speaks for more than 240,000 companies of every size, including many in the FTSE 100 and FTSE 350, mid-caps, SMEs, micro businesses, private and family owned businesses, start-ups, and trade associations. The organisation has offices in 13 distinct geographical areas of the UK, including the South West.

Attendees to the meeting included senior business leaders and executives from across a wide range of businesses operating across the length and breadth of the South West business community. The business sectors represented on the council cover the broad spectrum of industries including Banking and Finance, Aerospace, High Value Manufacturing, Professional Services, Transportation, Research and Technology, Communications, Natural Resources and Education. The CBI Director for the South West, Andrew Jenkins; Director of Campaigns, Andy Bagnall and Regional Chairman, Graham Cole were also in attendance.

Ms Bee Hughes, headmistress at The Maynard School, says: “We are delighted to be a member of the CBI and to host the South West Council Meeting. This is particularly timely, given the recent publication of the CBI report ‘first steps’ which sets out their education campaign, calling for a more strategic view of improving education.”

Andrew Jenkins, CBI Director for the South West, says: “I am exceptionally grateful to The Maynard School for hosting the CBI South West council and look to this as an exemplar in forging ever closer and stronger links between the education and business communities. Improving those links is vital to ensuring we provide the best possible environment and education to the workforce of the future who will be our next generation of business leaders, employees and entrepreneurs.”