A successful entrepreneur John Anderson is committed to developing enterprise activity and has been at the forefront of the campaign to encourage this in the North East region for over 15 years. The closure of the North East’s traditional heavy industries such as shipbuilding and mining had a devastating effect upon the region and whilst many refused to acknowledge their decline, John began working with a number of organisations to encourage training opportunities for young people and highlights the benefits of enterprise. As a result, he was appointed chairman of Sunderland City Training and Enterprise Council (TEC) in 1989. Part of a national network of organisations set up to encourage training and enterprise activity, Sunderland City was one of the top performing TECs in the country and the only one to develop a Business and Innovation Centre, a physical presence of small business units allowing companies to start small and expand into larger units as they grew and prospered. John was a driving force behind this development, persuading numerous bodies to support and invest in the concept. Now a private not for profit business, John remains as voluntary chairman and under his direction the BIC has developed into a multi-million pound operation and a focal point for enterprise activities in the region. John is also involved with a great many voluntary and educational initiatives on both a national and regional level and is always on the look out for opportunities that could help promote enterprise in the North East.
