One Surrey Growth Board

The One Surrey Growth Board is a strategic economic advisory board to Surrey County Council, helping to influence and steer approaches to sustainably grow the Surrey economy.

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Purpose and role

The One Surrey Growth Board helps to influence and steer the council’s strategic approach to growing the regional economy.

The board is a constructive check and challenge of local decision-making and helps to drive forward the county’s economic growth policy and programmes.

It includes representatives from the public and private sector, including multinationals, business representative organisations, education and local government.

The board is focused on:

understanding the county’s current economic context,
highlighting regional assets, advising on key strategies,
providing feedback on the implementation of economic growth programmes and initiatives,
working collaboratively to support and grow our economy.

The One Surrey Growth Board is supported by several partnership groups in achieving its ambitions and delivering the local economic strategy. This include the Surrey Business Leaders Forum, Surrey Place Leaders Group, Surrey Skills Leadership Forum and Surrey Innovation Working Group.

As an economic advisory Board, all Board Members are required to comply with the Code of Conduct and complete a Register of Interest. Further details can be found in the board’s terms of reference in the Document Library section.

Crowd of people watching a speaker on a podium

Membership

Cllr Matthew Furniss

Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport, and Economic Growth

Surrey County Council

(Growth Board chair)

Chris Hurren

Partner

RSM UK

(Growth Board Vice Chair / Chair, Surrey Business Leaders Forum)

Cllr Ann-Marie Barker

Leader

Woking Borough Council

(District and Borough Council rep – political)

Andrew Pritchard

Chief Executive

Runnymede Borough Council

(District and Borough Council rep)

Will Davies

Chief Operating Officer

University of Surrey

(Higher Education rep)

Gary Headland

Chief Executive Officer

Activate Learning

(Further Education rep)

Bruce Penson

Managing Director

Prodrive IT

(SME private sector rep)

Andrew Cawthorne

Director of Business Development

Surrey Satellite Technology Limited

(Priority cluster rep)

Helen Foord

Head of Global Government Affairs

McLaren

(Priority cluster rep)

Mike McNicholas

Managing Director, Infrastructure

AtkinsRéalis

(Large private sector rep)

Tracey Palmer

BID Manager

Walton-on-Thames Business Improvement District

(Employer representative organisation rep)

Louise Punter

Chief Executive

Surrey Chambers of Commerce

(Employer representative organisation rep)

Surrey has a great economic story to tell. We’re the UK’s leading regional economy, with more than 100,000 businesses which generate more than £50 billion a year to the UK economy.

Through our governance structure we’re bringing together representatives from key stakeholders and local business leaders to provide a clear and comprehensive approach to developing a strong sustainable economy. This is positive for business and for residents.

Matt Furniss, Surrey County Council’s Cabinet Member for Highways, Transport, and Economic Growth

Surrey is a fantastic place to do business. The innovation and ideas of its residents, combined with sector strengths in creative industries, and tech and life sciences, make it a pivotal region in driving growth for the whole of the UK.

Jeremy Hunt, MP for Godalming & Ash and former Chancellor of the Exchequer

Growing the economy in a sustainable way is a priority for the Council, which can only be achieved by working and engaging with our fantastic business community.

Growth is not only good for business; it also generates opportunities for local people, supports investment in our communities, and improves the lives and wellbeing of our 1.2 million residents.

Tim Oliver, Leader of Surrey County Council

Future Meeting Dates

Tuesday 4th March, 2025
Tuesday 24th June, 2025
Tuesday 23rd September, 2025
Tuesday, 16th December 2025

Future dates will be published in due course.

Document library

See documentation from the One Surrey Growth Board in our document library.

See documentation

A man in a suit a white shirt sits at a round table talking to colleagues in a business setting.