The independent trade association for Greater Manchester’s digital and technology sector, Manchester Digital, has appointed Alison Ross as its new chair.

Alison, of Auto Trader, has been appointed to lead the organisation’s continued growth, with her first task as chair being to ensure that the organisation’s new governance structure is widely adopted and working to benefit all members.

Tom Cull, COO of iProspect, has been appointed as vice chair and will support Alison and the newly expanded board in delivering a raft of new projects and initiatives due to launch in 2018.

To support the new governance structure four new board members have been elected: Hilary Stephenson, managing director at Sigma, Chris Marsh, founder at Agents Of, Monica Tailor, head of digital at Mccann Manchester, and Shaun Fensom, freelancer and founding partner at Manchester Digital. The new board will hold their first meeting in January 2018.

The new governance structure will streamline the business structure and facilitate increased member engagement, providing more opportunities for existing members to contribute to policy implementation, as well as the overall direction the organisation will take.

Alison Ross, chair of Manchester Digital, said: “Manchester Digital has had a very strong year, and I’m thrilled to have been chosen to steer its future growth. As an organisation we have a tremendous opportunity to instigate real change, tackling the issues which are currently facing the rapidly moving digital sector, and I’m incredibly excited to get started.

“Manchester is among the foremost digital cities in Europe, and Manchester Digital has played a vital supporting role in attaining this status. The challenge facing us now is to adapt, change and grow to ensure that we continue to play an integral part in establishing Manchester as one of the top five digital hubs by 2020, as pledged by Andy Burnham in his July digital summit”.

Katie Gallagher, managing director at Manchester Digital, added: “Alison has made a huge contribution to Manchester Digital since joining the board two years ago and she has a great vision for the future of the organisation. It’s incredibly important that Manchester Digital evolves and keep pace with the industry, and the new governance structure makes this much easier to do.

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