Lancaster Chamber appoints Jon Powell as president

Jon Powell has been appointed as the new president of the Lancaster and District Chamber of Commerce.

He is head of enterprise and innovation services at Lancaster University, and director of Employer Solutions.

Christopher Gardner, a director of Waters & Atkinson Chartered Accountants based in Morecambe, has been appointed vice-president. Alastair Richards, chief executive of North West Cancer Research, has also been appointed as non-executive director.

Although the passing of the chains from Mal Garnett, who had held the presidency for the last two years, has been postponed, the appointment was made official via the chamber's online AGM.

Jon said: "Firstly I would like to say a huge thank you to Mal on behalf of the Chamber team, the exec, the board and the membership.

"It’s no small task to take on the role of president. To commit a great deal of time, energy and passion to the Chamber; and who knew what was on the horizon when Mal took office in 2019?

"It’s been a challenging few years for the chamber but most of all for the district and our members. Most of which are thankfully still with us, but many haven’t been able to survive the unprecedented health and economic shock of Covid-19. It’s taken a firm hand at the tiller and I’m grateful to Mal for helping lead us through these challenging few years."

Vicky Lofthouse, chief executive officer of the Chamber, added: "It is great to see the Chamber’s board strengthened with a more diverse business base and the appointment of Jon as president."

Image by Nick Dagger Photography

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