Management team

Michael Laverty

An accountant by background with experience working in local government in London and the Midlands, Mick Laverty was appointed as Chief Executive of Advantage West Midlands in December 2007.

Previously, Mick served as Director of Finance and Strategy at the Agency from 1999 before becoming Deputy Chief Executive and Corporate Director for Resources and Operations.

During this time, Mick was responsible for all of the 2,500 projects and programmes funded by Advantage West Midlands and played a leading role in major transformational change schemes such as Eastside Locks and Longbridge Technology Park in Birmingham, the Gateway Plus scheme to regenerate New Street Station and Ansty Park.

Additionally, Mick led the development of the West Midlands’ first two economic strategies in 2001 and 2004 and oversaw the development of the Agency’s access to finance work, including investBX, the UK’s first online regional business exchange.

Mick is a father of four, a loyal Aston Villa supporter and a keen runner, regularly taking part in runs and races across the region.

Richard Hutchins

As Deputy Chief Executive, Richard Hutchins is responsible for leading Advantage West Midlands’ work in economic development. 

The Economic Development Directorate focuses on the key areas of Enterprise, Business Support, Manufacturing, Access to Finance, Innovation, and Trade and Investment. Within the Directorate sit the Clusters, split between the Enterprise and Innovation teams. We also have lead responsibility for the Enterprise Board, Innovation and Technology Council, Regional Finance Forum and International Business Forum, all of which are key regional bodies providing advice to the Agency's Board.

Prior to his role at Advantage West Midlands, he was an academic at Imperial College (Wye) and Newcastle University, where he researched, lectured and consulted in food marketing. Richard joined Advantage West Midlands in 2003 as Corporate Director for Skills and Sustainable Development.

Karen Yeomans

A chartered surveyor by profession, Karen joined Advantage West Midlands in 2001, having previously worked within the NHS on Private Finance Initiatives and commercial development schemes in the UK and overseas.  Karen was appointed Corporate Director of Partnerships and Communications in 2009.

The directorate encompasses the Partnerships Teams, Communications Team, Tourism and Culture Team, Performance Improvement Team and Birmingham Science City.  All of these functions are extremely important to the smooth running of the Agency and supporting the priorities for the region.

Tim Gebbels

The Strategy and Skills Directorate oversees the development and monitoring of the West Midlands Economic Strategy, together with all corporate and business planning activity, and the West Midlands Regional Observatory which provides the evidence to underpin the strategy. It also leads on all the programme-level evaluation work and the assessment of the Agency’s impact on the regional economy.

Also within the directorate are the Skills team, charged with tackling one of the five key economic challenges identified in the WMES and providing support for the Regional Skills Partnership, and the European policy team which leads the Agency’s delivery of the region’s European Strategy.

A graduate in physics, Tim started his career in the oil and gas industry where he spent 15 years in operational, technical and market positions both in the UK and internationally. He moved back to Birmingham, his city of birth, in 2002 to take up the position of the first Chief Executive at the West Midlands Regional Observatory.

Mark Pearce

A science graduate, Mark Pearce has over 15 years experience in delivering economic development and regeneration in a variety of public agencies at a national and regional level.

Mark joined Advantage West Midlands at its inception in 1998 and, in his most recent post, worked as Partnerships Director, leading the development and delivery of programmes and projects worth more than £100 million a year in the west of the region and Birmingham and Solihull.

In January 2007, Mark was promoted to the post of Corporate Director Economic Regeneration, responsible for leading the Agency’s work in regeneration and economic inclusion, planning and transport, urban and rural renaissance, health, tourism and sustainable development.

John Doherty

A Chartered Accountant by profession, John joined Advantage West Midlands in 2009 as Corporate Director Resources having previously worked at Ernst & Young and Boots the Chemist where he held various senior finance and business development positions.  John recently also served as Strategy Director and then Sales Director with responsibility for multiple call centres at Welcome Finance, a consumer finance business.

As Corporate Director Resources, John has responsibility for leading various AWM teams, including Finance, HR, IT, Internal audit, Board support, and our work on the European Fund.