Gary McKeating has been named as the new managing director of West Cumbria’s Industrial Solutions Hub.
Mr McKeating, head of development and community at Sellafield Ltd, has joined iSH on a two-year secondment.
The hub is is backed by Cumberland Council, the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority and Sellafield Ltd.
Mr McKeating has more than 30 years of industry experience, replaces previous managing director John Maddison, whose two-year tenure ended in December.
iSH aims to support the creation of jobs and opportunities through collaboration between industry, business, academia and community across the West Cumbria region and beyond.
An iSH Enterprise Campus (iEC) at Leconfield, Cleator Moor, is set to anchor the evolving business ecosystem in West Cumbria.
The campus is being developed in two phases and involves significant funding support from the Government’s Towns Fund (£22.5m) and Levelling Up Fund (£20m), alongside support from Sellafield, the NDA and Cumberland Council.
Eirini Etoimou, Sellafield Ltd’s head of corporate sustainability and supply chain development and sourcing, said: “At Sellafield we are committed to supporting our local communities and being an inextricable part of them.
“The Industrial Solutions Hub (iSH) is a high-profile programme which aims to support the regeneration of the local community at Leconfield and beyond.
“Gary is a dedicated and very well experienced professional in the social impact and economic development field, with a great reputation within the region for his commitment and for caring for the local community. We are proud of him and we wish him great success in his new role.”
Leader of Cumberland Council Mark Fryer added: “We welcome Gary and look forward to developing the iSH programme with partners. We are building for the future and alongside other schemes in Cumberland, iSH will support our area’s growth and economic future.”
