Hartlepool Development Corporation

Mayor Ben Houchen

Mayor Ben Houchen

Tees Valley Mayor

Ben Houchen was elected the first Tees Valley Mayor in May 2017 and represents 670,000 people. Before that, he was the Conservative opposition leader on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council where he represented the Yarm Ward. He was re-elected as Mayor in 2021 and 2024.

Ben qualified as a solicitor in 2009 and practised corporate law, commercial law and commercial litigation for six years before running his own business. He was UK & European CEO of an international sportswear company. He was also leader of the Conservative Group on Stockton Borough Council from 2014 to 2017.

He was elected as the first Mayor of the Tees Valley in 2017 and was re-elected in 2021 with 73% of the vote. He was then elected for a third term in 2024 and currently continues to serve as the elected Mayor.

In his first term, Ben successfully delivered his manifesto pledge to save Teesside Airport from closure and is continuing to deliver the 10-year Rescue Plan for the airport.

He is responsible for establishing the first Mayoral Development Corporation (South Tees Development Corporation - Teesworks) outside of London, second only to the Olympic Park – which was set up for the 2012 Olympics. The Development Corporation is responsible for the regeneration of the largest brownfield site in western Europe, which has attracted billions of pounds in foreign direct investment and is creating thousands of manufacturing jobs in industries like offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon, capture and storage. He has also created two more Mayoral Development Corporations to help regenerate Middlesbrough and Hartlepool town centres.

He has also helped to deliver national policies to help level up the country, including being one of the architects of the UK’s Freeport policy. As a result, he was able to establish the UK’s first and largest freeport – the Teesside Freeport. He also worked closely with Government to bring the newly established Treasury Economic Campus to Darlington, which is the premier home for the Treasury outside of London.

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Cllr Brenda Harrison

Cllr Brenda Harrison

Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council

Councillor Brenda Harrison was elected as the first female Leader of Hartlepool Borough Council in May 2024. She is a Labour Councillor and has represented the De Bruce Ward since May 2016. She served as Chair of the Council’s Children’s Services Committee from 2018 to 2019.

Prior to entering politics, Councillor Harrison’s career was in education, spending 33 years of her career teaching music and English in a Hartlepool secondary school.

Councillor Harrison is the Portfolio Holder for Culture and Tourism on the Tees Valley Combined Authority Cabinet and is passionate about delivering a brighter future for Hartlepool and the wider Tees Valley and ensuring young people have a voice to be heard.

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Alison Gwynn

Alison Gwynn

CEO, North East Screen

Alison leads North East Screen, North East England’s Screen Agency, whose work is focused on economic recovery and growth to deliver the sustainable development of screen industries in the region.

Alison has over 25 years’ experience in culture and creative industry, from providing marketing leadership at the Centre for Life to being instrumental in the planning and development of Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children’s Books. Her passion is to support the commercial business development of creative industry in North East England to be sustainable and thrive!

Recent achievements include securing a £37million regional investment from both a Partnership with the BBC and the formation of a landmark pan-region partnership – North East Screen Industry Partnership (NESIP). NESIP was formed by the three Combined and 12 Local Authorities from across the region to level up regional film and TV industries by more than doubling its 2019 share of the UK production market, delivering an annual economic impact to the regional economy of £88million. Alison received a Royal Television Society award for Outstanding Contribution to the Screen industry in 2022.

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Sarah Bedford

Sarah Bedford

Director & First Officer at HMB Accountants

Sarah Bedford is a Director at HMB Accountants in Billingham, with over 30 years of experience in the accounting profession. She qualified as an accountant early in her career and now co-leads HMB Accountants with her husband, Howard Bedford.

Sarah specialises in helping owner-managed businesses, primarily within the Tees Valley, to grow and prosper. Her work with local business owners gives her a deep understanding of the challenges they face. Under her leadership, HMB Accountants provides exceptional service and strategic guidance, fostering the success of the local business community.

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Simon Corbett

Simon Corbett

CEO of Orangebox Training Solutions

Simon Corbett is the driven and ambitious CEO of Orangebox Training. With a passion for maintaining high standards and developing a positive culture, Simon is a successful entrepreneur with over 23 years’ experience in various industries, including retail, sales, banking, and law enforcement. His expertise lies in covert policing, training delivery, and leadership and management.

In March 2016, Simon launched Orangebox Training as a start-up, demonstrating his commitment to creating a people-centric environment. Now leading a team of more than 60 staff, including skilled consultants and trainers, Simon ensures exceptional training services across the UK, Europe, and the UAE, with a focus on customer satisfaction, teamwork, and quality assurance.

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Brenda McLeish OBE

Brenda McLeish OBE

CEO of Learning Curve Group

Brenda McLeish OBE DL is the CEO of one of the UK’s largest training providers, Learning Curve Group.

With more than 20 years’ experience in the education sector, Brenda has helped drive significant growth in the business, which delivers a broad range of educational services and training programmes across diverse industry sectors and a broad range of learners.

Having entered the sector with East Durham College, Brenda developed her career in a number of roles before joining Learning Curve Group in 2008. Progressing to her current role as Chief Executive, Brenda has helped the business grow from 40 full-time employees to almost 1,000.

Learning Curve Group supports approximately 200,000 learners every year through the learning materials it creates and directly across its network of training facilities and skills academies across England and Wales as well as through relationships with many thousands of employers. Since 2004, the company has seen its turnover increase from £1million to in excess of £60m, also gaining national coverage as a training provider.

Brenda was awarded an OBE for her services to education in the 2022 Queen’s New Year Honours list recognising her 20 years of dedication to the education and training sector on a national scale. This is due to always going above and beyond to promote positive change for the industry, fundraise for many charities and truly embody her vision for transforming lives through learning. Continuing her great success in 2022 Brenda was appointed Deputy Lieutenant of County Durham in May for her dedication and contribution to education and skills in the region.

Brenda is an active member of a series of strategic boards and network steering groups including AELP and St Martins Group.

She has also led on strategy to respond to local and national priorities to support NEETs, apprenticeship provision, delivery to the unemployed, work-based training, flexible learning provision and English and Mathematics.

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Lisa Molloy MRICS

Lisa Molloy MRICS

Commercial Director of Strabag UK

Lisa Molloy is a Commercial Director in the construction industry and the author of Molly in Construction.

Lisa has 20 years’ experience working both nationally and internationally, commercially delivering major construction projects in civil engineering, renewables, oil and gas and infrastructure sectors – including commercially managing civil engineering businesses, managing commercial and contractual risks and mentoring and managing teams to achieve successful commercial delivery.

She has a vested interest in industry issues and their resolution, providing representation on industry boards and panels including conflict avoidance and resolution, EDI and a has a personal interest in skills shortage issues.

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Cllr Shane Moore

Cllr Shane Moore

Hartlepool Borough Councillor

Cllr Shane Moore has been an elected Member of Hartlepool Borough Council for over 8 year and held a number of senior positions, including the Leader of the Council which oversaw the creation of the Development Corporation.

With a keen interest in housing, sports and the cultural sector, Shane led on ambitious capital regeneration projects that are currently ongoing totalling over £80 million of investment.

Alongside his Council work, Shane works in the transport industry specialising in petroleum products. He is also a member of the North Area Council for Arts Council England.

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Matt Storey

Matt Storey

Cleveland Police and Crime Commissioner

Matt Storey was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner for Cleveland in May 2024.

Matt has worked in the public sector his entire career in the Office of Dari Taylor, Member of Parliament for Stockton South, as an officer at Middlesbrough Council and as Parliamentary Office Manager to Andy McDonald MP since 2012.

Matt has been a Councillor in Middlesbrough since 2016, representing Central Ward, and was Labour Group Leader between 2019 and 2023 and Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Board until May 2024.

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Martin Raby

Martin Raby

Principal, Northern School of Art

Martin is a Chartered Accountant. He has worked in senior roles in further and higher education, and as a consultant for KPMG, for over three decades.

He has been the Principal at The Northern School of Art since 2008, and gained a PhD based on a case study at the institution.

The School is a specialist institution delivering further and higher education courses at campuses in Middlesbrough and Hartlepool. It holds Ofsted Outstanding ratings (2009, 2022) and Teaching Excellence Framework (TEF) Gold awards (2017, 2023).

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Associate Members

Julie Gilhespie

Julie Gilhespie

Chief Executive of Tees Valley Combined Authority

Denise McGuckin

Denise McGuckin

Managing Director of Hartlepool Borough Council

Mark Webster

Mark Webster

Chief Constable

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