New Entrepreneurs' Forum Chairman Announced

Well-known North East business owner, mentor and investor James Robson MBE has been named as the new chairman of the Entrepreneurs' Forum

A highly-active entrepreneur who has launched and invested in a number of growing businesses, James succeeds Nigel Mills who held the chairman’s role for the last six years.

“I am very honoured to be appointed chairman of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum,” said James, “the access the Forum gives business owners to a strong and diverse network is vital to the success of so many North East firms.”

James is a huge advocate of the benefits of sharing expertise and experience among fellow entrepreneurs, which is something he has been committed to throughout his business career.

He established Exwold Technology in Billingham in 1992, which is a contract chemical processing company operating in the agrichemical and speciality markets. The company currently operates from four sites in Tees Valley employing in the region of 120 people, with a turnover in excess of £10m.

Now a non-executive director of Exwold, James has built a respected reputation for helping other businesses since he has been able to focus more of his time on sharing the lessons he has learnt during his own entrepreneurial journey.

Presented with the Entrepreneurs’ Forum’s Mentor of the Year Award in 2016, his consultancy company Alexander Jewitt & Co. provides mentoring and hands-on resources to North East SMEs. James also works closely with the Department of International Trade (DIT) and, as an investor and chairman of Mircopore Technologies, has raised considerable capital to fuel international growth, bringing the Loughborough University spin-out from the Midlands to its new home on Teesside.

Awarded an MBE in 2011 for services to North East business, James is also a prominent member of the region’s chemical sector community and is a member of the North East Process Industry Cluster (NEPIC) leadership board.

James is also honoured to succeed Nigel Mills as chairman, who is one of the region’s most prominent business people and a strong advocate for the importance of entrepreneurship.

Nigel, who will remain on the board and is a founder member of the Forum, was recently awarded a CBE in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours for his services to entrepreneurship in the North East and Cumbria.

James says, “I would like to thank Nigel on behalf of our members for his dedicated and loyal service during his chairmanship and I look forward to building on his achievements in driving the scale-up agenda and as a champion of North East business.”

Nigel has been part of the region’s business community since he founded his first retail enterprise in 1986 with eight stores across Tyneside. He grew the Mills brand into a chain of 85 convenience stores and supermarkets, becoming a multi-award-winning group that employed more than 2,000 people and turned over in excess of £100 million.

Nigel is also the co-founder and chairman of The Lakes Distillery, a Cumbrian-based producer of whisky, gin and vodka and the largest distillery in England.

Of his time as chairman, Nigel says, “The Forum has established itself as a core part of the North East business community and I am proud to have played a role in its continuing growth and the development of events and programmes that encourage and nurture entrepreneurship in the region.

“I am delighted to pass the chairmanship of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum to James who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the role.”

Gillian Marshall, chief executive of the Entrepreneurs’ Forum concluded, “Nigel has been a wonderful chairman and the driving force behind much of the development of the Forum in recent years, which has created a solid platform that I am sure James will help our team and our membership build upon for future shared success.”