West Cumbria well-placed for growth as iSH begins search for new MD

John Maddison, iSH managing director, who has laid the platform for future success as the organisation looks for a new leader to take it into 2024 and beyond

Businesses, industry, academia and communities in West Cumbria are well-placed to work together to maximise a wealth of opportunities according to Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH) managing director John Maddison as he prepares to hand over the baton to a new leader of the organisation.

The organisation aims to promote West Cumbria’s capability across the rest of the UK and around the world, bringing a range of economic and social benefits to the area. An iSH Enterprise Campus (iEC) is currently being developed at Leconfield, Cleator Moor, which will anchor an evolving business cluster in West Cumbria. It is being developed in two phases and involves significant funding support from the Government’s Towns Fund (£22.5 million) and Levelling Up Fund (£20 million), alongside support from Sellafield, the NDA and Cumberland Council.

Mr Maddison has been the managing director of iSH since it was formed in March last year and has built a talented team to help create jobs and diversification opportunities while also promoting West Cumbria’s capabilities to the rest of the UK and the world. He said: “This job has always been about the place, it is about what is happening in the amazing businesses, industries and communities in West Cumbria, and bringing them together in the spirit of collaboration with schools, colleges and universities to create even more opportunities for the region to enhance the area’s capability.

“We are also focused on selling West Cumbria capability across the rest of the UK and the world, bringing a range of economic and social benefits to communities in West Cumbria through projects which will have a positive impact on people, the economy, and the environment. We have been able to identify diversification opportunities across nuclear, defence, cyber and space industries, and by collaborating with schools and colleges we are creating clear pathways into careers for young people who might otherwise have been overlooked. We have recruited a highly capable and talented team at iSH who are ideally placed to maximise these opportunities. I will miss them when my time at iSH comes to an end next month.

“I am delighted, however, that whoever takes on the job does so with iSH ideally placed to support the region, with the backing of its stakeholders including Sellafield Ltd, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) and Cumberland Council.”

The role of iSH managing director is now being advertised as the iSH searches for a successor to Mr Maddison. More information can be found here here.