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Joanne joined NEPIC in May 2020, just as the COVID-19 pandemic lock down measures came into force, as operations director she listens to the needs of the local business landscape to seek opportunities for our 340-strong membership and aims to understand their ongoing challenges so we can best support our members.

Many of our members will already know Joanne from her work at the North East England Chamber of Commerce and Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council. She has a longstanding history of helping businesses throughout the area, which saw her recognised as one of the most influential people in the North East.

As an organisation we are committed to supporting the needs of our members as we embrace the evolving opportunities and challenges that are presented to the North East process sector, and Joanne’s experience in supporting and strengthening the voice of local business aligns perfectly with our ethos.

“When I joined NEPIC I recognised this was a new industrial sector to get to grips with. I’ve focused my efforts in listening to our members and improving my knowledge and understanding of the major issues impacting the sector.

“Whether this be translating government directives for ‘home working’ or ‘key worker status’ during the pandemic or understanding the huge opportunities and challenges we face through the ambitions of Net zero and Energy transition, I have made it my business to ensure we at NEPIC support and represent our members in the most informed way.

“We recognise that without our members there would be no NEPIC, and I have worked closely alongside our CEO, Philip and the board to realign our direction and ensure members are at the heart of everything we do.”

As a qualified project manager, Joanne is instrumental in the smooth running of our organisation, since joining she has strengthened and improved our communications capability and developed a focused account management programme to allow us to elevate the voice of our members.

At NEPIC we are passionate about helping the region and seeing its people succeed, Joanne is often at the heart of this through her ongoing philanthropic efforts.

“I’ve always thought it’s important to give back to the area I’ve grown up in, I’m honoured to have been a Trustee of Middlesbrough Football Club Foundation since 2017 now and have taken part in CEO Sleepout twice, most recently for their ten-year anniversary.

“I fully recognise the impact our industry can have on our local community and society as a whole and as such believe it’s important to embed a strong social conscience into all that we do within NEPIC, particularly when it comes to raising awareness of the careers available in our industry to all social groups within the North East of England.”