Last month, the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority announced appointments to their new cluster boards: Advanced Manufacturing, Health and Life Sciences and Digital and Creative. DefProc’s managing director and co-founder, Jen Fenner, joins the Advanced Manufacturing cluster board. 

Each board provides guidance for policies in their sector. This includes driving economic growth, productivity and the region’s competitive landscape and supporting ambitions for inclusive growth and sustainability.

The board is chaired by Trevor Leeks (Jaguar Land Rover) and includes members from companies including Make UK, Arup, Inovus Medical and Ford Motor Company. All three boards also feature at least 50% female members.

As the managing director of the smallest business on the Advanced Manufacturing board, Jen hopes to bring an alternative perspective to the table. DefProc is an innovation partner for early-stage manufacturing, so we work with people right at the start of their projects. This means our clients aren’t working with millions of pounds worth of backing and investment. By holding this prestigious position on the board, Jen wants to shine a light on the challenges faced by SMEs in the Liverpool City Region and Advanced Manufacturing sector.

The Business Desk North West Leadership Awards

We’re also delighted to announce that Jen received The Business Desk NWLA Technology Leader award last week. The ceremony at the Midland Hotel in Manchester celebrated the region’s extraordinary leaders and their positive impact on their business.

Our clients will know the incredible work Jen does on a day–to–day basis to manage our projects. However, an integral part of being a business leader is knowing how to grow sustainably, what areas to expand into and how to achieve goals. Over the past year, this has meant changing the business’s processes to ensure a continuous income stream. 

Jen has also worked hard to implement professional development plans for the team at DefProc. As a transformational leader, Jen is keen on providing opportunities to give and receive feedback in an informal, open and honest setting. For small businesses, there is always the challenge of creating clear career progression for employees where they may be the only person in their department. By providing opportunities to learn new skills and develop existing ones, DefProc’s capabilities will continue to grow.

Can DefProc help your business grow?

If you’re looking for an innovation partner with experience in the advanced manufacturing sector, get in touch with us! Tell us about your project and how we can help. You can also keep in touch via our company LinkedIn page or connect with Patrick and Jen.