ELC restructures itself

The Electronics Leadership Council (ELC) has announced the second phase of its development as an industry leadership body. Seven new members have joined the Council – all chairs or CEOs of major UK electronics companies. In its restructured form, the ELC will assume a prominent advisory role to the Government on the UK electronics industry. And, according to chairman Harry Tee, the body has already held a successful meeting with Baroness Shriti Vadera, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Business and Competitiveness. The new ELC will meet three or possibly four times a year, with an invited Government minister in attendance. The Council will concern itself with all the key issues that impact on the electronics industry, including skills, innovation, investment and government procurement. It will monitor progress against an agreed Strategy Plan that will be published on the ELC’s website. Tee said: “The ELC’s initial phase was heavily task oriented, our role being to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the 2004 Electronics Innovation and Growth Team (EIGT) report. To a great extent, this has been accomplished and the Council must now look forward to providing leadership to the wider industry. The newly constituted ELC has been set up to do precisely this, and to be far more strategic in its thinking. We welcome the new council members and the expertise and fresh thinking that they will bring to the table. “Too often, we hear about electronics being an enabling technology for other sectors and not an industry in itself. The ELC sets out to dispel this myth. Electronics is not merely an enabler but is absolutely core to many successful UK engineering businesses, whether they be defined as defence, aerospace, transport or automotive. “All sub sectors will be represented on the new ELC, including microelectronics, the basic building block of the industry, and – given the centrality of innovation and enterprise to the national strategy – venture capital as well. The new ELC has a vital role in providing focused and high profile sector leadership and we are looking forward to the challenges and opportunities ahead.” The new ELC members are: Doug Dunn, chairman of ARM; Harriet Green, ceo of Premier Farnell; Guy Griffiths, MD businesses, BAE Systems; Herman Hauser, chairman of Amadeus capital; Indro Mukerjee, ceo of C-MAC MicroTechnology; Graeme Philp, ceo of MTL Instruments; Alex Dorrian, ceo of Thales UK; and Ollie Althorpe, ceo of ST Microelectronics UK.