[C]umbria Local Enterprise Partnership, the county’s strategic economic body, has appointed a new board member from the nuclear sector.
Rebecca Weston, Enterprise Director at Sellafield Ltd, has joined the board of the LEP with immediate effect.
Rebecca has wide experience across Sellafield Ltd having held senior leadership positions in Operations, Technical and Commercial. As Enterprise Director, she is responsible for Strategy and Planning, as well as Corporate Affairs and Transformation.
She also leads the innovation and research and development programmes, provides the facilities and business units with technical support and ensures the business makes and creates optimum technology choices, while developing the science, technical and engineering skills and capabilities needed now and for the future.
Rebecca’s most recent role, before joining the executive team at the end of 2015, was Head of Portfolio for the Retrievals and Decommissioning Directorate.
Rebecca said: “I’m delighted to accept a position on the Board of the Local Enterprise Partnership, and look forward to playing my part in a re-energised LEP that can help deliver growth in the Cumbrian economy.
“Sellafield is one of the UK’s largest industrial sites and has a huge impact on the local economy. I want to ensure that the broader economy benefits from the investments being made to clean up the nuclear legacy.”
Rebecca was nominated for the role by Sellafield Ltd following a request by the LEP board for a suitable nominee. She will serve on the board for an initial period of three years.
Lord Inglewood, Chair of Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership, says: “We are delighted to welcome Rebecca to the board. With her wealth of nuclear industry knowledge and leadership experience, she will be a great addition to the team.
“Rebecca’s appointment also reflects the LEP’s desire to work even more closely with the nuclear industry This will be especially important in light of the nuclear sector deal announced by the Government, which is set to bring major benefits to the county. The nuclear industry will also be a crucial part of the new Local
Industrial Strategy for Cumbria to take the county’s economy forward and accelerate its growth up to 2030.”
Rebecca has a BA in Physics from Oriel College, University of Oxford, where she also won ‘blues’ in hockey, football and cricket. She also holds a PhD in Mechanical and Electrical Engineering and is an Executive Master of Business Administration (MBA), Leadership, Business and Management in which she achieved a Distinction.
Rebecca is a Chartered Engineer. She is also Chairman of the Centre for Leadership Performance, a not-for-profit private limited company that aims to improve leadership capability in Cumbria.
She has also chaired the Cumbria branch of The Nuclear Institute, which supports professional development for all nuclear professionals (including CEng registrations) and the broader education of the public, and now sits on the national board.
