A TRIO of women business leaders will help guide the growth of Cumbria’s economy.

Jennifer Cormack, Emma-lea Dalton and Claire Deekes have been appointed to the board of the Cumbria Local Enterprise Partnership (CLEP), the organisation tasked with driving growth and investment in the region.

Together, they will bring their wealth of experience across Cumbria’s key sectors to guide the LEP’s policies and programmes.

Jennifer currently works for Windermere Lake Cruises, the most popular tourist attraction in Cumbria. 

Emma-lea, based in Dalton-in-Furness, will support the region’s small and medium size enterprises (SME's), as an entrepreneur and director of three successful businesses: Brizzolaris Bar, MKO Properties and My Kind of Clean.

Claire will complete the trio of appointments. With over 25 years’ experience across the retail banking and building society sectors, she is currently Head of Retail Distribution at the Cumberland Building Society.

Lord Inglewood, Chair of the Cumbria LEP, said: “A warm welcome to Jennifer, Emma-lea and Claire, who are perfectly-placed to shape our strategic priorities for Cumbria and support our SMEs.

“This is a critical time for Cumbria’s economy and our business community, so it is really positive to be welcoming new leaders to our board. They’ll help steer the ship through the choppy waters that our businesses of all sizes will be navigating, including rising inflation and the cost of living and energy crises.

“Cumbria excels across many sectors, from tourism and advanced manufacturing, to clean energy generation. Our businesses will be well-placed to seize new opportunities to innovate and expand, and the experienced LEP board will continue to champion sustained investment at every opportunity.”