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North West Business Leadership Team Strengthens its Membership

The North West Business Leadership Team (NWBLT) has welcomed Steve Coffey as a new member.

Steve is the Chief Executive of Torus, the region’s largest affordable housing provider, who own and manage around 40,000 homes in Warrington, St Helens, Liverpool and beyond.

Profits generated by group members Torus Developments and HMS are reinvested into the Torus Foundation, a community anchor institution, to fund projects that build social capital and fulfil the group mission of growing stronger communities. Torus operates as a lead strategic partner for Liverpool, St Helens, and Warrington Councils, and for the Government’s housing accelerator Homes England.

Chairman of the North West Business Leadership Team, Jonathan Murphy, welcomed the news:

“I have been keen to ensure that the vital role that affordable housing must play in the future sustainable growth of the region is recognised at the heart of our work – from driving forward the skills agenda through to our journey to net zero.

“Torus are a significant player in this space, and Steve brings a wealth of personal expertise with him, that will add great value to us. I am very much looking forward to working with him and his team.”

Steve said: “I am delighted to join the NWBLT and look forward to working with the team to share ideas and drive forward opportunities for growth and levelling up. Torus is a key investor and catalyst for change in the North West and will play a huge contribution to developing future sustainable places and capturing new jobs and future skills through strong partnerships.

“With the value and expertise of NWBLT colleagues, Torus will be able to enhance these opportunities and support the growth of a prosperous, green and vibrant North West.”

A number of new representatives of member organisations have also joined the Team and are listed below:

Michael Bradley, Daresbury Lab Leader, Programme Director IBM Research
Michael is a senior leader in IBM with over 20 years of experience at the company. Michael’s leadership roles in IBM have enabled him to work in IBM’s Software Development Labs, Emerging technologies, Research and Services businesses.

This has given him a deep and broad business understanding within the technology industry. He has led small, agile internal start up teams for new products and large global operations teams. Michael is a member of IBM’s Leadership Faculty, helping to coach and train the next generation of IBM’ers. He has a research background in Biochemical Engineering, a passion for new technologies and enabling clients and IBMers to succeed.

Vanessa Harding, MD, North West co-Lead, Accenture
Vanessa is a Managing Director in Accenture’s Strategy & Consulting Banking practice and has spent the last 15+ years focussed on shaping and delivering large scale business and technology transformational change across a range of Banking clients.