Champions showing that business can be a force for good

all been part of networking groups which have thrived and then withered in time. It is hard to maintain interest and participation when you are merely networking.

Champions has been different. There is endless talk in the media and politics about social cohesion but the success of the Champions has been down in no small part to business cohesion.

There was – and is – a recognition that if business wanted to see improvement it could not wait for or rely on the civic authorities to do it for them but to work in support. Business had to step up to the plate and lead.

Four key themes emerged: Events Central, Innovation, Connection and Peace & Reconciliation – areas we felt Coventry and Warwickshire had strengths but could do more.

Bi-monthly meetings were established where Champions could not only hear about developments in their area but we have also worked hard to unearth outstanding people with a strong connection to Coventry & Warwickshire but who were not “involved” in the patch.

It has attracted a fascinating mix of people – the Coventry-born winner of the special effects Oscar (beating Star Wars to the honour), the BBC environmental correspondent, former Sainsbury’s CEO Justin King, royal florist Simon Lycett, Poundland supremo Jim McCarthy, who hailed from North Warwickshire, to name a few – all with a powerful connection and all with a strong story.

The will to improve the level of events hosted in our area has led directly to two major events which have helped put Coventry and Warwickshire on the map.

What started as an idea in the head of Champion James Noble at one of the meetings has evolved into MotoFest, a two-day annual celebration of motoring which brings 125,000 people into the centre of Coventry.

But it is not the only event to come directly from the Champions scheme.

Coventry has long been seen as an international symbol of peace and reconciliation after its rebuilding following the bombing during the Second World War.

The combination of that and Events Central, fired the imagination of Coventry University, Coventry City Council and Coventry Cathedral.

Rising, a global peace symposium which attracted a string of highprofile speakers, including former prime minister Gordon Brown, former secretary of state for international development Hilary Benn and ex-Beirut hostage Terry Waite, along with other international figures from the world of peace and reconciliation, again came directly from our push to improve our event offer.

Champions has staged an event at the Shard for London-based investment figures, while it has also promoted businesses and initiatives to the national media, leading to international coverage in papers and trade publications and on television.

The reason for tomorrow’s event at The Studio – which will see 200 people turning out at 7.30am – is not only to share some of the successes with our neighbours but to underline that we are all a part of the same region. Success for Birmingham means success for us, and vice versa.

And it will also hopefully show that business can very much be a force for good. Les Ratcliffe is chairman of the Coventry and Warwickshire

Champions and head of community relations at JLR

The success of the Champions has been down in no small part to business cohesion