Peterborough man to lead flagship service to generate wealth and jobs for county

A Peterborough business leader has been chosen to lead a new company to help oversee the county’s economic growth.

Nigel Parkinson, of Wothorpe, who has served as an executive at Unilever, Perkins and Caterpillar, has been named as the inaugural Non-Executive Chairman of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Business Growth Company Ltd.

For 13 years before retiring in 2020, Mr Parkinson was the managing director of the Marine Business Unit at Caterpillar.

The Business Growth Company has been created by the Combined Authority of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough to manage its new Business Growth Service, which launches this month to use a £26 million support package for businesses to recover and grow.

Mr Parkinson said: “We have a great foundation of successful business in the region that we can build upon.

“As someone who has lived and worked in the region for almost 30 years, I am very positive about the future.

“I believe that through the successful execution of plans that are in place we will be able to ensure that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough is the leading region to live, work and learn. It is an exciting time and we have a highly engaged team committed to making great things happen.”

Chairman of the Combined Authority’s Business Board, Austen Adams said: “The Business Growth Service is a flagship programme for us.”

“Nigel’s credibility with the business community, experience of building businesses and appreciation of local issues, will give us a massive head start in delivering an accelerated economic recovery, that is greener and more sustainable.”