New East Manchester appoints chief executive

Eddie Smith, who joined New East Manchester over two years ago as Deputy Chief Executive, has been appointed Chief Executive after acting up following the departure of former chief, Tom Russell.

Formerly Head of Regeneration for Manchester City Council, Eddie headed up teams working on a range of projects including setting up the Housing Market Renewal Pathfinder programme, the redevelopment of the Maine Road site (the former Manchester City Football Club ground) and the redevelopment of Wythenshawe Forum.

Prior to Manchester City Council, Eddie worked for Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council. During his time at Oldham he was seconded for two years to develop the European Objective 2 programme for North West England.

Robert Hough, Chairman of New East Manchester said: "New East Manchester has been very successful in transforming the physical, economic and social landscape of east Manchester over the last nine years and we were looking for someone with strong leadership skills who could further drive transformation in the years ahead. Eddie Smith has demonstrated over the past 14 months that he is amply capable of defining and taking our strategy forward and I am very pleased we have secured someone of such a high calibre for this important role, who brings such great passion, commitment and experience.

"We are about to embark on an exciting phase in the regeneration of east Manchester which we have to manage within a challenging economic climate. Under Eddie's leadership I am confident we can bring significant benefits to the people who live in east Manchester now, and those who will choose to live here in future."

Commenting on his role, Eddie Smith, Chief Executive for New East Manchester said: "The past two years have, without doubt, been the most exciting, challenging and rewarding of my career to date. Together with the talented team at NEM, we have put in place solid foundations that will enable east Manchester to make a vital contribution to the economic competitiveness of the national, regional and city region economies. Our work has already enabled local residents to secure local benefit from the opportunities that are being created.

"There are now huge opportunities ahead of us that will allow us to continue this momentum, make a real difference to people's lives and accelerate the regeneration of east Manchester. The future is very exciting for this part of the city and playing a key part in the on-going renewal of the area is a privilege and extremely satisfying."

For more information on New East Manchester visit www.neweastmanchester.com