Member Article

Trio of City Region leaders join Professional Liverpool board

Professional Liverpool, the organisation that represents the Liverpool City Region’s professional community, has welcomed three leaders from the region to its non-executive board.

The Director of Tate Liverpool, Helen Legg, Founder and Director of Ametrine Coaching & Consultancy, Irene Afful, and Matt McLaren, Professional Risks Director at Griffiths & Armour, will all bring their experience and expertise to the Professional Liverpool board.

The new board members represent diverse sectors of the regional economy and will offer fresh perspectives and insight as Professional Liverpool continues its evolution from a traditional membership organisation to a diverse, future-focused community that provides inspiration and opportunity for connection and collaboration. Andrew Ruffler, CEO of Professional Liverpool, who took on the role in 2020, said: “Professional Liverpool is committed to leveraging our influence as a champion for positive change in the city region. We want to connect and inspire the community we represent by spearheading key initiatives and supporting the Education, Diversity and Inclusion agenda within the city region.

“Our recent partnership with Everton’s official charity, Everton in the Community, to bolster communities throughout the city region is just one example of the work we are doing to support these organisational aims, and our extremely talented and accomplished board has an important role to play in shaping and steering our future strategy.

“Helen, Irene, and Matt are true leaders in the city region, who have forged remarkable careers, while also pioneering positive change and bringing real value to their respective communities and sectors at a national and international level. Their influence and insight is significant and we’re delighted to have them on board and look forward to drawing on their considerable expertise and experience as we set the course for continued growth and innovation within our organisation.”

Helen Legg was appointed Director of Tate Liverpool in 2018 following eight years as director of Spike Island in Bristol. In addition to running the gallery, she also oversees Tate’s national partnerships and is currently Chair of Royal Albert Dock, Liverpool. With over two decades of curatorial expertise, she has worked extensively with British and international contemporary artists, was part of the selection committee for the British representation at the Venice Biennale 2017 and a judge for the Turner Prize.

Helen said: “Liverpool’s proud heritage as a gateway to the world has shaped a professional services sector that is one of the most well respected in the UK. Our diverse talent pool reflects the Liverpool City Region’s thriving cultural and commercial offering, and I am delighted to be joining the Professional Liverpool board. It’s a hugely exciting time for the city region and it’s great to be joining forces with Andrew and the team as we build on the strong foundations in place to grow and nurture a thriving community that will act as a catalyst to deepen inclusion, support the next generation, and enable collaboration and connection within our professional sector.”

Irene Afful is an award winning business woman. She is the Founder and Director of Ametrine Coaching & Consultancy where she pursues her passion for diversity and inclusion, supporting businesses and individuals to be more effective by offering a variety of tools, bespoke workshops, and consultancy services both nationally and internationally. Her clients include public, private and third sector organisations, educational institutions and global companies.

In her previous career, Irene Afful was the first black female Inspector in the Merseyside Police force. Her career incorporated critical incident management, professional standards, child protection and serious crime investigations including homicide. During this time Irene had received many accolades and commendations and was featured in a local history book, ‘Liverpool Black Pioneers’.

Irene said: “I am delighted and honoured to join the board at Professional Liverpool. Having been a member for several years, I have seen the important work that PL does leading the way in the professional and business sectors. I am looking forward to working with my fellow board members and the PL Team to further enhance the offering of PL to build wider connections and lead the way in embedding support, connections, opportunities, education and diversity and inclusion in the Liverpool City Region.”

Matt MacLaren joined Griffiths & Armour’s graduate scheme in 2003 and worked his way up the business, culminating in being promoted to Director of its Professional Risks Division in 2017. Matt advises a wide variety of corporate and professional businesses across the UK and internationally, managing the firm’s law firm and financial services client propositions. He is regularly consulted by national organisations and associations on complex insurance solutions and risk management programmes.

Matt said: “I was very privileged to be invited by Andrew and the Professional Liverpool team to join its board recently. Having been involved in the city region business community for some time now, it’s exciting to be joining an ambitious and forward thinking organisation such as PL as a representative of that community.

“The environment that businesses across all regions have faced recently has been extremely challenging, but I truly share Andrew and the board’s belief that we are entering a period where the Liverpool City Region has huge opportunities ahead of it. Professional Liverpool is an organisation whose influence sits right at the core of that, helping to drive the ambition which will shape the future prosperity of the city region, its members and, even more importantly, the opportunities that will generate in the future for our younger generations.”

Professional Liverpool’s unique collaboration with Everton’s official charity, Everton in the Community, will run until the end of 2021. The collaboration will see Professional Liverpool adopt Everton in the Community as its Charity of the Year, hosting and participating in a number of fundraising initiatives and volunteering opportunities to raise vital funds to further develop the charity’s 40+ social programmes that support those most in need, tackling issues such as poverty, mental health, education and employability.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Paula Sykes .