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[March 2009]
New Head of UK Ceramic Industry Trade Body
On 1 March 2009, Dr Laura Cohen took up her appointment as Chief Executive of the British Ceramic Confederation (BCC), succeeding Kevin Farrell. Kevin will continue to work in support of Laura until his retirement in June, after 25 years at the helm of BCC in Stoke-on-Trent.
Laura Cohen has already been working alongside the BCC team for six months, having been appointed Chief Executive-designate in September 2008. During that time, she has familiarised herself with BCC member companies, not only in North Staffordshire but throughout the UK, visiting many potteries, brickworks and other ceramic production facilities to review the scope of the industry and learn at first hand of the issues it faces. Laura has also established many productive contacts with business and civic leaders in North Staffordshire and with politicians and civil servants, both in UK government and the European Commission, whose own briefs impact upon the ceramic industry.
She is now looking forward to dealing with the many challenges that the role of Chief Executive of BCC presents and to applying her experience in the development of pragmatic solutions to the issues facing BCC member companies.
Laura, a Chartered Engineer who gained her PhD in Materials Science and Metallurgy at Cambridge University in 1988, is also a Fellow of the Institute of Materials, Minerals and Mining (IOM3). She brings to her new role considerable experience of building and leading networks within UK and European trade associations and professional bodies and has served as a British Standards Institution spokesperson on European standards making committees.
Additionally, in January 2006, she was a representative of the pharmaceutical industry on a UK Cabinet Office Better Regulation task force concerned with labelling regulations for medicines. Such external appointments complement an impressive track record of pioneering new practices that have realised substantial cost benefits for her previous employers, the global research-based pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca.
Ian Dudson, President of BCC, said: “Laura is joining the BCC at a challenging time but all Board members and member companies join me in wishing her every success in her new role”.
ENDS