Bosses from Natwest, Shell and Sainsbury’s join PM’s new taskforce to boost growth
Top bosses from firms including Barclays, Aviva and Shell have joined the Prime Minister’s new business council aimed at supercharging the UK’s growth.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak will chair the first business council meeting at No10 today, followed by a glitzy reception for scores of industry bigwigs to celebrate UK enterprise.
CEOs including Alison Rose of Natwest and Barclays boss C. S. Venkatakrishnan said they were “delighted” and “honoured” to be part of the project, which hosts a total of 14 major chief executives.
Top of their agenda will be action to boost investment, support innovation, encourage skills and talent development and grow the economy, No10 said.
Sunak said: “The more businesses innovate and invest, the more we grow and create good jobs right across the country.
“I look forward to hearing first-hand from business leaders about how we can break down the barriers they face and unlock new opportunities for them to thrive.”
Venkatakrishnan added: “Barclays is committed to supporting the government in unlocking investment and harnessing innovation. Together, we seek to turbocharge sustainable economic growth and inclusive prosperity for the UK.”
The committee is made up of bosses from across a range of sectors, from construction, life sciences and tech to financial services and energy, employing around 330,000 UK workers.
They are: Astrazeneca CEO Pascal Soriot; BAE Systems CEO Charles Woodburn; SSE CEO Alistair Phillips-Davies; GSK CEO Emma Walmsley; Google Deepmind co-founder and CEO Demis Hassabis; Natwest Group CEO Alison Rose; Sainsbury’s CEO Simon Roberts; Barclays CEO C. S. Venkatakrishnan; Diageo CEO Debra Crew; Aviva CEO Amanda Blanc; Shell CEO Wael Sawan; Vodafone CEO Margherita della Valle; Taylor Wimpey CEO Jennie Daly; and Sage CEO Steve Hare.