Jim Teasdale
Jim Teasdale, CEO of Mersey Maritime, has announced his retirement after 11 year at the helm of the industry representative body.
His last day in the role will be Wednesday 30 September 2015.
Jim was a founder director of the Birkenhead based not-for-profit organisation, set up in 2003 to represent the interests of the Ports and Maritime Sector on Merseyside, by helping to create the right conditions for business growth.
He leaves Mersey Maritime in a healthy position, acting as a linchpin between the private and public sector.
Jim said: “It’s been an honour and privilege to be involved with Mersey Maritime, initially as a director and, since 2004, as CEO.
“From the very start we knew that we had set ourselves a lifetime commitment; to bring the interests of the sector on Merseyside together and speak on its behalf with one voice.”
He continued: “During my time as Chief Executive, we’ve made real and tangible progress, with the Liverpool cluster now recognised nationally and internationally as an example of best practice. I’d like to thank my Board of Directors for their commitment and unfailing support and the Mersey Maritime team, who have helped steer the organisation through occasionally choppy waters to where we stand now: on the brink of exciting new developments with a blueprint for the future in our hands.
“Our close association with Liverpool John Moores University and Peel Ports Group (owner-operators of the Port of Liverpool and the Manchester Ship Canal), and other leading businesses on our membership list including Atlantic Container Line, Bibby Line Group and Cammell Laird, means that we are in a unique position to help and support local maritime businesses and their supply chains, ensuring that the sector is recognised as a clear economic driver for the region, ” said Jim.
“I’m stepping down into retirement confident that the future of Mersey Maritime is in good hands. Acting CEO Chris Shirling-Rooke has already taken up the mantle of leadership by continuing to promote and develop the strong alliances we have built with maritime businesses, training centres and universities across the UK and the EU to further the cause of our industry.”
Previously, Jim was CEO at the then Laird Foundation, a Centre of Vocational Excellence in Marine Engineering, now known as Maritime and Engineering College North West (MECNW).
He will continue to serve as a director on the boards of both Mersey Maritime and MECNW.
Jim Teasdale is stepping down as CEO of Mersey Maritime Group, having spent a lifetime at the education/ business interface with the goal of helping people develop and gain skilled employment.
Having begun his career as a teacher in his native North East, followed by a Research Fellowship at University College Cardiff, Jim went on to gain a Master’s degree in management and progressed into a series of senior roles within education. In 2004, Jim was appointed as CEO of industry representative body Mersey Maritime and engineered its successful merger with Maritime and Engineering College North West (MECNW) in 2007 to form Mersey Maritime Group. The expanded Group has a combined turnover of £3.5m and deals with a wide range of maritime and engineering sector companies, private and public sector partners, as well as policy makers at all levels locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
Jim was instrumental in helping to develop and launch a Mersey Ports Growth Strategy in 2006, which was subsequently referenced in the development of the Mersey Ports Masterplan and helped form the basis of the Superport Liverpool project, the private sector-led group that aims to drive forward the Superport Action Plan and bring over £270 million investment into the maritime sector by 2025. As a panel member of the Superport Committee, Jim also researched and authored the Liverpool City Region Skills for Growth Agreement.
Jim is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute (FCMI), a Member of the Institute of Professional Development (CIPD) and a lifelong member of City & Guilds. He was previously a member of the Liverpool City Region Employment and Skills Board, sat on the steering committee for Sea Vision, the national careers organisation for the maritime sector, and is still an Apprentice Ambassador for the North West. Jim is happily married to Julie, with 2 grown-up children.
Mersey Maritime Limited
Mersey Maritime is the private-public sector partnership that represents the interests of the shipping, ports and logistics sector on Merseyside, including improvements to the movement of freight across the region. It represents the interests of a cluster of 1700 businesses employing 28, 000 people, with a combined turnover of £2.6bn.
