Chair of the West of England Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) Colin Skellett and Bristol & Bath Science Park chief executive Bonnie Dean are among prominent businesspeople receiving the OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Mr Skellett, who is also executive chairman of Bath-based Wessex Water, has been honoured for services to business and the charity WaterAid, while Ms Dean is rewarded for services to design, technology and innovation.
Mr Skellett has been a major figure on the business scene in the region for more than a decade, particularly in Bath where he helped establish partnership organisations such as Bath Tourism Plus and the Bath city centre management body Future Bath Plus. He said he was proud of linking the business community and local authorities for the common good.
Throughout her career, Ms Dean (pictured) has worked principally in engineering companies where it was vital to invest in research, development and innovation to survive and prosper.
Design played a particularly critical role in helping define how to respond to changing user needs and market trends.
She was also a trustee of the Design Council for six years and was very involved in a programme to introduce design into early stage technology companies to help them accelerate their access to markets and customers.
More recently, she has worked on the Bristol & Bath Science Park at Emersons Green where incorporating design into the buildings and use of space has made a substantial contribution to its success.
US-born Ms Dean said: “I am honoured and delighted. The UK excels in design, technology and innovation. As a result of our strengths in these areas, the UK and the South West in particular has the potential to launch new industries which could bring decades of growth and create new jobs. It has been a privilege to work in three areas about which I am passionate.”
